Pantanal Jaguar Safari

CÁCERES – PORTO JOFRE PANTANAL CRUISE

11 nights / 12 days

Within Brazil the Pantanal comprises around 230,000 square km divided between two states, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul; it also extends beyond Brazil into Bolivia and Paraguay. The plain slopes 1-3 cm in every kilometer from north to south and west to east to the basin of the Rio Paraguay and is rimmed by low mountains. From these, 175 rivers flow into the Pantanal and after the heavy summer rains they burst their banks, as does the Paraguay River itself, to create vast shallow lakes broken by patches of high ground and stands of Cerrado forest. Plankton then swarm in the water forms a biological soup that contains as many as 500 million microalgae per liter. Millions of amphibians and fish spawn or migrate to consume them. And these in turn are preyed upon by water birds and reptiles. Herbivorous mammals graze on the stands of the water hyacinth, sedge and savannah grass and at the top of food chain lay South America’s great predators – the Jaguar, the Ocelot, the Maned Wolf and the Yellow Anaconda.

In June, at the end of the wet season, when sheets of water have reduced, wildlife concentrates around the small lakes or canals and there is nowhere else on earth where you will see such vast numbers of birds or caimans. Only the plains of Africa can compete for mammals, and chances of seeing jaguar or one of Brazil’s seven other species of wild cats are greater here than anywhere in the continent.

Day 1:

Start after Breakfast - Transfer Cuiaba - Caceres-Paraguai River -Paraguay River Exploration

Overnight in Barco Hotel Aguape (Cruise Boat)

Day 2 & 3:

Jaguar Photography Safari - Paraguai River – Game viewing from River Boats