The Pantanal, the name given to the vast wetlands of southwest Brazil and eastern Bolivia, is famous for congregations of vast numbers of birds and mammals. We shall stay at some delightful lodges and be spoiled by the easy birding. The northern Pantanal is easily combined with a trip to the southern Amazon, where the birding is more difficult, but the rewards perhaps greater; the Cristalino Jungle Lodge has its own private reserve with a mind-boggling bird list of over 500 species. This tour is timed for the end of the dry season, when birds are often concentrated in the few remaining wet areas and mosquito numbers are at their lowest.

Day 1: Arrival
We’ll meet you at Cuibá airport and take you to a nearby hotel for the night.

Day 2: Chapada dos Guimarães
We’ll have the whole day to explore this national park north of Cuiabá. Early in the morning we may bird some cerrado (savanna), which can be surprisingly good for birds such as White-banded and White-rumped Tanagers, White-eared Puffbird, and the rare Rufous-sided Tody-Tyrant. Once the park opens, we’ll check out the magnificent Bridal Veil falls, not only beautiful but also home to two rare swifts: Biscutate and Great Dusky. Night at a hotel near the park.

Day 3: To Cristalino Lodge
After a few hours more birding in the Chapada , we return to Cuiabá and catch a midday flight to the town of Alta Floresta. From here, we travel by vehicle and boat to the lodge, our home for the next five nights. Cristalino Jungle Lodge has quickly gained the reputation as being the finest lodge in the Southern Amazon, with comfortable rooms, great food and service, and terrific birding opportunities.

Days 4-7: Cristalino Lodge
With four full days to explore the area, we’ll have the chance to visit all the best birding sites. There is a sturdy 160 ft (50 m) high tower that provides great views over the treetops and gives us a good chance of seeing canopy species like Red-necked Araçari, Black-girdled Barbet, Spangled Cotinga, and Red-fan Parrot. Several trails from the lodge give access to bamboo-dominated areas with specialized species like Manu Antbird, a distinctive race of Dot-winged Antwren, and Rufous-capped Nunlet. Another trail takes us to the top of some granite outcrops with more open forest where we may find Natterer’s Slaty-Antshrike, Spotted Puffbird, and others. Other trails pass through vast terra firme forests loaded with antbirds like Spot-backed, Dot-backed, Black-faced, Bare-eyed, and more. This is truly one of the top birding spots in the world and there will be plenty to keep us busy for every minute.

Day 8: Depart Cristalino
After some final birding, we fly back to Cuiabá in the afternoon, then drive a few hours to the start of the famous Trans-Pantanal highway. We shall spend the first two nights at Pousada Piuval, a comfortable lodge on a cattle ranch near the start of the highway.

Day 9: Pousada Piuval
We’ll take an early morning boat ride. The edge of the river is jam-packed with Cocoi and Capped Herons, Rufescent Tiger-Herons, Jabirus, Maguari Storks, Black-collared Hawks, and plenty of others. We should see our first Hyacinth Macaws as they fly across the river early in the morning. In the afternoon we will bird the deciduous woodland and gallery forest on the property. The ranch is a haven for two rare cracids once hunted to the brink of extinction: the spectacular Bare-faced Curassow and the local Chestnut-bellied Guan.

Day 10: Piuval and The Pantanal Highway
We bird our way south along the Pantanal Highway, where roadside gallery forest can be good for regional specialties like White-wedged Piculet, White-lored Spinetail, and Mato Grosso Antbird. Eventually we arrive at Fazenda Santa Tereza, a lodge situated on the edge of the Pixaim River. It is simple but delightfully quiet and a perfect base to spend three nights. Every evening we’ll enjoy the spectacle of Nacunda and Band-tailed Nighthawks flying low over the river.

Day 11: Santa Tereza
A nearby trail passes through terrific gallery forest, which can be loaded with birds in the morning. The open nature of the forest makes it relatively easy to see them, and Band-tailed Antbird, Large-billed Antwren, Pale-crested Woodpecker, and Helmeted Manakin can all usually be seen without too much difficulty. A Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl can often bring in large mobbing parties of passerines, like Flavescent Warbler, Ashy-headed Greenlet, Stripe-necked Tody-Tyrant, and others. In the afternoon we take a boat ride on the river where we can see more waterbirds, as well as families of the weird Capybara, a giant relative of the guinea pig.

Day 12: Pantanal highway
Today we shall venture farther south along the road, crossing many dilapidated wooden bridges as we look for more birds. This area can be good for the superb Scarlet-headed Blackbird which we shall look for if we haven’t seen it already, and other local species like Cinereous-breasted and Rusty-backed Spinetails, and Pavonine Cuckoo.

Day 13: End of tour
After breakfast we drive and bird our way back north, reaching Cuiabá by mid afternoon, in time to connect with afternoon flights our of Cuiabá.

TOUR INFO:

CLIMATE: Hot and dry in the Pantanal, hot and humid in the Amazon, a little bit cooler in Chapada.

DIFFICULTY: Fairly easy, with one more difficult trail at Cristalino.

ACCOMMODATION: Good to very good throughout. The Pantanal lodges are a bit Spartan, but they all have private bathrooms, hot water, fans, and AC. Cristalino Lodge has three levels of rooms. We normally book standard rooms. If you prefer a luxury room, they may be available for extra cost. Rooms with shared bathrooms are also available for a discount, which could be a good option for people requiring single rooms.