Tour 13: Parque Nacional das Emas, Goias (11 days/10 nights)(Federal state of Goiás, 80 km from Mineiros, 508 km from Cuiabá, Mato Grosso)
The national park "Parque Nacional das Emas" in Goiás is one of the most sensitive nature reserves of Brazil. It was founded in January 1961 in order to protect parts of the "cerrado" biotope from the big march towards the west, which started after the inauguration of Brasilia. A wildfire destroyed large parts of the park in 1983. It opened again for the public in 2003. Now visitors can explore the park every day from 08:00 am until 05:00 pm. Every year only 3000 tourists are allowed to visit it. The IBAMA (Brasilian Nature Conservancy Authority) is responsible for making sure this rule is observed and for reforesting the park, which in huge areas has already been completed successfully. We, the tour organiser Pantanal/Amazon Tours in Poconé - Mato Grosso with branch offices in Berlin, have concluded a contract with the IBAMA in Goiás, granting us the right to invite 100 tourists to the park annually. In the park itself and in the environment there are neither hotels or convenient accommodations or infrastructure, so that everybody has to accept the 80 km journey from Mineiros. A wildlife park always worth visiting to spend a few interesting and adventurous days! Tour programme:11 days / 10 overnight stays2-person minimum/6-person minimum1rst day:Arrival at the airport in Cuiabá. Our guides pick you up (on request, English or German speaking guides are available). Drive along the interstate highway BR070 passing small towns like Campo Verde until we reach Primavera do Leste, driving along mile-long soy, corn and cotton fields (about 240 km).Primavera do Leste has about 48.300 inhabitants. Compared to other cities in Mato Grosso it is a very rich town (due to the large number of soy growers). The city offers a lot of interesting shopping possibilities. Overnight stay at the Hotel Tropical or at the Hotel Master in Primavera do Leste. All rooms with TV, minibar, air conditioning, bathroom/shower facilities and partially equipped with internet connection (Hotel Master); the Hotel Tropical also has a swimming pool. On your way to Primavera do Leste break and lunch at a local restaurant, if desired. Dinner in Primavera do Leste, for example at a churrascaria (typical local restaurant offering meat specialities).
2nd day:After breakfast our trip continues in air-conditioned small-sized buses up to Barra do Garças, situated by the river Rio Araguaia (about 280 km). On the way possibility to have lunch or a break respectively.This is the most demanding part of the journey, since about 150 km of the road are covered with potholes, so that it is necessary to drive very slowly and carefully, which can cause delays and make for an exhausting drive.
3rd and 4th day:Barra do Garças is our starting point for a tour to the „Gruta Azul“ and to the „Serra o Roncador“ near Barra do Garças. A native guide will accompany our tour (hikes to the waterfalls, caves and grottoes), but if desired it is also possible to simply relax or have a bath in the hot springs of Aquas Quente.Barra do Garças has about 53.500 inhabitants You stay at the Araguaia Park Hotel for the night, directly on the banks of the Rio Araguaia. Due to the bad road conditions (many potholes) and high amount of traffic, delays and an exhausting drive are possible.
5th to 9th day:After breakfast our journey goes on - from Barra do Garças to Mineiros in the federal state of Goiás (about 180 km). You stay at the Hotel Dallas in the centre of Mineiros. This hotel has been completely renovated and offers quite a bit of convenience. Your suite is equipped with TV, air conditioning, a stereo system, a minibar and a fan.
The Hotel Dallas will be the starting point for your daily tours into the Parque Nacional das Emas (about 80 km). You must take a packed lunch and beverages with you, since there is no infrastructure in the environment of the Parque das Emas. The local guide Ednaldo will be pleased to accompany us. Ednaldo is also authorised by the IBAMA to guide tourists through the park.
In the national park Parque das Emas live a lot of animal and plant species; if you are lucky you can watch a lot of different types of birds (among them toucans and hyacinth macaws), roe deer, tapirs, armadillos, snakes, capibaras and many other kinds of animals in the wild. The park is also home to the biggest bird in Brazil, the "ema" (Rhea americana), a South American type of ostrich which this reserve is named after (not to be confused with the Australian "emu"). Moreover, almost all types of cerrado vegetation can be found in the park, for example the "campo-limpo", the "campo-sujo", the "cerradão" and the "mata-ciliar" (gallery forest). Besides the Gramineae there are often to be found: Dalbergia, Campomanesia, Bowdichia, Qualea, Voshysia and Anacardium. Grasses dominate the "campo-limpo", but among them are also small and crippled trees with a height of 5– 6 m, some of them bearing fruits as for example the "fruta-de-ema", the "caju" (Anacardium occidentalis) or the "murici" (Byrsonima sericea). The periwinkle "buritís" (Mauritia vinifera) and the "copaíbas" (Copaifera officinalis) attract visitors' attention in the gallery forests. A peculiarity of these savannas are the huge termite nests, up to 2 m high, consisting of clay dried in the sun. In the warm and humid summer nights between October and November, these nests shine in a blue-green phosphorescent light in the dark grass, truly a fantastic phenomenon; this is caused by the millions of termite larvae.  But of course the main attraction of the park are the animals typical of the cerrado landscape and the possibility to watch them – like, for example,
groups of "emas", with a height of 1,50 to 1,70 m which makes them easy to spot even in the tall grass. It is also easy
to watch the "tamanduá-bandeira" (Myrmecophaga tridactila), the biggest
type of anteater, when he opens up the termite nests in order to find
the larvae using his long sticky tongue. You can also find the
"suçuarana" (Puma concolor) – the yellow-brown puma, the "tatu-galinha"
(Dasypus sexcinctus), a type of armadillo, the wild duck
"pato-selvagem", the very rare king vulture "urubu-rei" (Sarcoramphus
papa), the almost-extinct "arara-canindé" (Ara araranna) and the
pheasant "perdiz" (Rhynchotus rufescens). In the gallery forests on the
banks of the rivers live the "macaco-prego", the capuchin monkey and the
"bugio", the howler monkey.If you are very patient you can watch all the others, for example the shy "lobo-guará" (Chrysocyon brachyurus), the South American mane wolf, the "cachorro-do-mato" (Cedocyon), a wild dog, different kinds of deer (Blastocerus dichotomus), "siriemas" (Cariana), grey-blue flightless birds with a height of about 80-100 cm, with orange-red legs and many, many other types of tropical birds. Among the reptiles you find the "jacarés" (Caiman palpebrosus) a type of caiman, "sucuris" (Eunectes murinus), anacondas/boas and poisonous snakes such as the "Jararáca" (Bothrops jararaca). 9th to 11th day:After breakfast we leave the federal state of Goiás driving along the BR364 in direction of the Rondonopolis towards Chapada dos Guimarães (about 400 km), 70 km north of Cuiabá. The road takes us through the unique beauty (serpentine roads) of the „São Jose do Povo“ and the „Pedra Preta“ (mountains). In Rondonopolis you have a short break to freshen up while we fill up the car; then we drive directly to Chapada dos Guimarães.
The deeply fissured plateu-like Chapada dos Guimarães forms the watershed between the rivers of the Amazon and the Rio Paraguay (flowing as Rio de la Prata in Argentina into the Atlantic Ocean). Waterfalls and subterranean grottoes, bizarre rock formations, plateaus exposed to heat and cold – the Chapada's highest point is the mountain São Jerônimo with 835 m above sea-level - green tropical, heavily overgrown canyons – Chapada offers you all of this. The city of the same name is situated at centre, about 70 km north of Cuiabá. The oldest building in this small but very attractive town is the Nossa Senhora Santana do Santissimo Sacramento church, which was finished in 1779. After breakfast visit to the national park. During our trip through the highlands you have the opportunity to take a bath in one of the numerous waterfalls. Visit to the cave of Casa de Pedra (with a subterranean river), view from Morro de São Jerônimo, the highest waterfall of the Véu de Noiva with a height of 86 m, plunging down into a majestic canyon. 11th day:Depending on flight schedules: in the morning or in the early afternoon drive back to the airport in Cuiabá.Note:Extra days or connecting tour to the Pantanal possible on request.Prices:
The following performances are included in the prices:All transfers and all drives, incl. petrol costs2 overnight stays at the Hotel Turismo or at the Pousada Penhasco in Chapada dos Guimarães with breakfast, lunch (2 x) and dinner (2 x) at local restaurants Day trip to Nobres, incl. lunch at the Pousada Recanto Ecologico 1 overnight stay with breakfast at the Pousada Bom Jardim, 1 x dinner in the small town of Bom Jardim Excursion to the Lagoa das Araras Small city centre tour in Cuiabá 24-hour support by trained travel guide (English-speaking) Snorkelling equipment which is cleaned and disinfected after every use Not included:Beverages, tips, personal expenses |
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