Tour 9: Three ecosystems in one tour - Amazonas - Chapada dos Guimarães – Nobres - Pantanal12 days/11 nights, 2 person minimum (March to December)
Mato Grosso is the only federal state in Brazil that combines the three biggest ecosystems in South America: the Amazon rainforest, the cerrado of Chapada dos Guimarães and the Pantanal. This tour offers visitors the unique opportunity to get to know three ecosystems in one tour, without wasting much time on long flights. In addition to that, you go to the Lagoa Azul and Gruta Azul, which are more beautiful and untouched than Bonito in the southern Pantanal near Nobres.
1st day: Cuiabá – Amazon rainforest (São José do Rio Claro)Arrival at the airport in Cuiabá and drive of about 300 km (of which 290 km are asphalted and 10 km are not) to the northern Amazon rainforest. Lunch at a local restaurant on the way. Check-in at the Jardim d' Amazônia lodge. Welcome drink at the swimming pool. After dinner you take a short walk to listen to the sounds of the rainforest by the nearby lake. Overnight stay.
2nd day: Amazon rainforestAfter breakfast hike along the Angelim trail (or "bird trail"), to watch wild animals. Lunch at the lodge. In the afternoon you go swimming and snorkelling in natural spring water to watch the diverse regional fish. You enjoy the sunset in the "Arara lagoon". Dinner and overnight stay.
3rd day: Amazon rainforestAfter breakfast you go deep into the jungle. You get to know the flora and fauna of the rainforest and your chances of seeing tapirs and many different bird species are very good here. The tour continues with a boat trip on Rio Claro and a swim on the beach of Palmeira. After that picnic and rest in a hammock. After lunch you go on a canoe tour on Rio Claro with its many different wild animals. Dinner and overnight stay at the Jardim d' Amazônia lodge.
4th day: Amazon rainforest – Nobres (Lagoa Azul) – Bom JardimAfter breakfast we go to Lagoa Azul (about 3 hours' drive). You have lunch at the "Pousada Reino Encantado", and afterwards we inspect the Lagoa Azul with its blue light shimmering up at us from a crater cave. Later visit to the dripstone cave. You are equipped with snorkelling gear (life jacket, diving goggles, snorkel and flippers; these are disinfected and cleaned after every use). In the crystal-clear spring basin you marvel at the underwater world. This place is home to pintados, dorados and various other fish species. In the evening we go to Bom Jardim for the night. Dinner at a local restaurant in Bom Jardim. Overnight stay at the Pousada Reino Encantado.
5-7th day: Bom Jardim – Chapada dos GuimarãesAfter a simple breakfast at the "Pousada Reino Encantado" we go to Chapada dos Guimarães, a completely different kind of landscape. Here you spend two nights at the "Pousada do Parque". You experience the singular beauty of these mesas. In the afternoon (depending on arrival time) visit to the national park. During a hike in the highlands one has the opportunity to take a bath under one of the many waterfalls. Visit to the cave of "Casa de Pedra" (with an underground river), view of the waterfalls.After breakfast on the next day trip to the Centro Geodesico (the exact central point of South America). One can see for more than 100 km from here when the view is clear. We go to the small town of Chapada dos Guimarães where lunch awaits us at a local restaurant. Many Cuiabans have their weekend houses in this town. That makes it very busy on weekends.
After lunch we go to the best-known waterfall once again, where the water plunges down into a 96-m-deep canyon. Afterwards walk to the Andorinhas waterfall. Time to take a bath, perhaps you are even courageous enough to jump down the waterfall (this is considered a test of courage in these parts). After this refreshment we return to the Pousada Penhasco. After a shower and a little rest dinner in Chapada at a local restaurant. Overnight stay at the Hotel Turismo or at the Pousada do Parque. 7-8th day: Pantanal - Pousada PiuvalAfter breakfast we go from Chapada dos Guimarães to Poconé (approximately 170 km of asphalt street) in the air-conditioned minivan or car (depending on the number of persons). In Pocóne you have lunch with a typically Brazilian family and enjoy the delicious local cooking. After lunch you can go on a sightseeing flight over the Pantanal (at an extra charge) from/to Poconé to experience the Pantanal from a bird's eye view; alternately drive to your first accommodation in the Pantanal, the Pousada Piuval (approximately 17 km). Arrival at the Pousada Piuval, located by the Piuval lake, after a drive of 7 km on the Transpantaneira. In the late afternoon you undertake a boat tour to track down various bird species and howler monkeys. Nighttime safari with torches and flashlights to watch nocturnal animals after dinner.
8th day: Pousada Piuval - Fazenda Santa TerezaIn the morning you walk to the nearby Piuval lake or go on a horseback ride. After lunch drive to the Fazenda Santa Tereza (situated by milestone 65 of the Transpantaneira) with several stops on the way to watch and take pictures of the animals in the vicinity. After arrival you move into your room, in the evening there is another nighttime safari to watch nocturnal animals. With a little bit of luck you are even able to spot a group of hyacinth macaws, which have lived near this fazenda for many years.
9th day: Fazenda Santa Tereza - Jaguar safari Sunrise tour at 5 am (upon request). You paddle the canoe along Rio Pixaim for a few hundred metres to a river bend with several look-out towers on the shore. From here you get a wonderful view and experience the awakening of the Pantanal. Especially in the early morning hours there are many bird species to be spotted here. An experience that you should definitely not pass up.After breakfast you go to Porto Jofre, the end of the Transpantaneira (about 75 km). From here you start out on a boat tour to track down jaguars, which will last several hours. Picnic lunch. In the late afternoon you return to the Fazenda Santa Tereza. Dinner at the lodge.
10th day: Fazenda Santa TerezaBefore breakfast sunrise tour. In the vicinity of this lodge you can watch monkeys, caimans, macaws, capibaras, hundreds of bird species, snakes and giant otters; even the giant anteater has been sighted here regularly. The best way to watch the animals is from the boat, since this makes their escape distances shorter. After breakfast you go on a horseback ride on the lodge grounds. Lunch at the lodge.In the afternoon there is a boat tour on Rio Pixaim, which gives you the best chance to watch giant otters and perhaps even a group of lowland tapirs. There is also a large number of bird species living here, such as the very rare macaws, black-collared hawks, Toco toucans and Brazilian smooth snakes (Hydrodenastes gigas).
12th day: Fazenda Santa Tereza – Curicaca lodgeAfter breakfast you leave the Fazenda Santa Tereza and head along the Transpantaneira to the Fazenda Curicaca (25 km, then another 3 km of private road). This accommodation was newly renovated in 2008 and has 10 rooms. All rooms are furnished with a fan and a bathroom/shower. The Pousada offers a very nice swimming pool. Lunch and dinner at the lodge including beverages.From the pousada you can set out on various tours through the Pantanal; by boat or canoe, or on foot into the neighbouring forest. However, tours along the Transpantaneira are another good option to get a sense of the variety of the flora and fauna in this area of the Pantanal. The Curicaca lodge is an El Dorado for bird lovers, but with a bit of luck there are also quite a few mammals to be seen here (anteaters, tapirs, etc.). 12th day: Curicaca-Lodge - CuiabáSunrise tour at around 5 am. Breakfast at the lodge. Afterwards transfer to the airport in Cuiabá.Note:The tours are adjusted to the circumstances on location, changes to the programme remain reserved. Timely booking is required since most accommodations are fully booked months in advance in the busy season. The tours and excursions described above can be altered according to weather, season or group condition. Your chances of seeing a wild jaguar are best in the time from June to December.Recommended equipment:T-shirts and shirts to sleep in, trainers or light hiking shoes, jeans or hiking trousers, hat and sunscreen, camera, sweatshirt from June to September.
Prices apiece:
In case of 4 persons or more, two airplanes are used for the flight. Performances (included in the prices):3 overnight stays at the Pousada Jardim d' Amazônia in São José do Rio Claro (in case of a later arrival in Cuiabá, only two overnight stays at the Pousada Jardim d' Amazônia and one at the Hotel Odara in Cuiabá) incl. full board1 overnight stay at the simple Pousada Reino Encantado near Lagoa Azul incl. full board 2 overnight stays at the Hotel Turismo or at the Pousada do Parque (at an extra charge) in Chapada dos Guimarães incl. full board 1 overnight stay at the Pousada Piuval incl. full board 3 overnight stays at the Fazenda Santa Tereza incl. full board 1 overnight stay at the Curicaca lodge incl. full board and drinks Full board (breakfast, lunch and dinner in Nobres and Chapada dos Guimarães at regional restaurants) All transfers, all tours by car, by boat, on horseback and on foot 24-hour support by trained and experienced English-speaking travel guide (depending on availability) On the 7th day lunch with a typically Brazilian family in Poconé Not included:Beverages, tips, personal expenses, 1-hour sightseeing flight.The texts and photos on this site are protected by copyright: © by Günter Stysch © by Ingo Schulz |
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