Pantanal Tour
Pantanal Tour
Join our Pantanal tour and visit both the Bolivian and Brazilian Pantanal.
The Pantanal is the world’s largest wetland system and one of the most intact and diverse environments on the entire planet. It’s also one of the world’s most important ecosystems. The great Pantanal includes a big variety of fauna and open landscapes, from rivers and lagoons with its caimans, iguanas, water birds, etc., adding floodable plains with marsh deers, greater rheas, anacondas, the incredible palm-tree plains, to the tropical dry forest with its monkeys, spiders, birds, etc.
The tours are developed in all this variety of ecosystems and the programs are designed to offer the maximum variety of fauna, landscapes and transport means.
Your trip in the Pantanal starts from Santa Cruz de la Sierra. From Santa Cruz we will arrange transport to Puerto Suarez by train or by airplane, you choose. Puerto Suarez is located along the southern edge of Caceres Lagoon and almost at the very end of the railway to Brazil (630 km from Santa Cruz). This tour takes place in Bolivia and in Brasil!
REFERENCE PROGRAM
3 DAYS PROGRAM (BY TRAIN)
DAY 1 Visiting the Forest „El Tumbador“, surroundings of the lodge and Caceres Lagoon.
The first tour is a walk through the forest and on the Caceres Lagoon shore, so that you can be immersed in the dry forest, cross a little stream, enjoy the gallery forest and the shore of the lagoon. Generally that gives you the chance to see some of the four species of monkeys and, especially for birdwatchers, between 40 and 60 species of birds. After the walk, you can visit the laboratory, where jaguar and caiman skulls can be observed; you can observe some poisonous snakes as rattlesnake and Bothrops as well.
Lunch.
In the afternoon we will visit Caceres Lagoon, which has a surface of 80 square kilometres approx. and an annual depth variation of more than 3 meters. The kind of boats used in the Pantanal, light and quick, allows us to get in the narrow canals situated on the lagoon margins, where is possible to enjoy incomparable open landscapes. The tour is carried out on an aluminium boat, 7 meters large, with an out boarding motor, roof and comfortable seats. In the rainy season (November to February) this tour can be difficult to make because of the low level of the water. We will spend the night in the lodge El Tumbador.
DAY 2 Paraguay River (10 hours)
The best way to survey the Pantanal is by boat. We use the Paraguay River as the main vein to reach the most beautiful places of the floodable plain, there where the typical inhabitants of the Pantanal can appear: caimans (locally called „yacarés“), capybaras, iguanas, egrets, herons, storks, raptors and even giant otters during lucky days.
The tour begins on the Tamengo Canal and follows the Paraguay River (you are in Brasil now). Your views from the boat are beautiful. We will have lunch on the boat and dinner in Porto da Manga (Brasil), where we will spend the night in a ´pousada´ (a lodge).
DAY 3 4×4 Tour (3 hours) and back to Puerto Suarez.
We start our day in Porto da Manga, a little fishing village on the Paraguay River’s shore in Brasil.
We will cross the Paraguay River with a ferry boat. With a 4 wheel drive we will go through the called „Estrada-Parque“ (Park Road), which crosses the floodable plain, used by not totally aquatic animals (caimans, capybaras, ant-eaters, etc.) as an important point of land when the water level is high (from April to September). There is a big chance to see lots of wildlife during this ride. After this trip, we will have lunch again in Porto da Manga and in the afternoon we will go back by boat to Puerto Suarez.
Transfer out to train station.
FOUR DAYS PROGRAM (BY AIRPLANE)
DAY 1 Visiting Caceres Lagoon (3 hours).
Transfer in from the airport to the Ecological Centre.
Lunch.
In the afternoon we will visit Caceres Lagoon, which has a surface of 80 square kilometres approx. and an annual depth variation of more than 3 meters. The kind of boats used in the Pantanal, light and quick, permits us to get in the narrow canals situated on the lagoon margins, where is possible to enjoy incomparable open landscapes. The tour is carried out on an aluminium boat, 7 meters large, with an out boarding motor, roof and comfortable seats. In the rainy season (November to February) this tour can be difficult to make because of the low level of the water. We will spend the night in the lodge El Tumbador.
DAY 2 Paraguay River (10 hours)
The best way to survey the Pantanal is by boat. We use the Paraguay River as the main vein to reach the most beautiful places of the floodable plain, there where the typical inhabitants of the Pantanal can appear: caimans (locally called „yacarés“), capybaras, iguanas, egrets, herons, storks, raptors and even giant otters during lucky days.
The tour begins on the Tamengo Canal and follows the Paraguay River (you are in Brasil now). Your views from the boat are beautiful. We will have lunch on the boat and dinner in Porto da Manga (Brasil), where we will spend the night in a ´pousada´ (a lodge).
DAY 3 4×4 Tour (3 hours) and back to Puerto Suarez.
We start our day in Porto da Manga, a little fishing village on the Paraguay River’s shore in Brasil.
We will cross the Paraguay River with a ferry boat. With a 4 wheel drive we will go through the called „Estrada-Parque“ (Park Road), which crosses the floodable plain, used by not totally aquatic animals (caimans, capybaras, ant-eaters, etc.) as an important point of land when the water level is high (from April to September). There is a big chance to see lots of wildlife during this ride. After this trip, we will have lunch again in Porto da Manga and in the afternoon we will go back by boat to Puerto Suarez.
Dinner and lodge in the Ecological Center.
DAY 4 Visiting the Forest „El Tumbador“, surrounding the lodge area (3 hours).
This tour is a walk through the forest and on the Caceres Lagoon shore, so that you can be immersed in the dry forest, cross a little stream, enjoys the gallery forest and the shore of the lagoon. Generally that permits you to see some of the four species of monkeys and, especially for birdwatchers, between 40 and 60 species of birds. After the walk, you can visit the laboratory, where jaguar and caiman skulls can be observed; as well you can observe some poisonous snakes as rattlesnake and Bothrops.
Tour includes:
- Transfer in/out in Pto. Suarez
- Experienced Spanish speaking local guide
- Excursions detailed in program
- All transport (boat and 4×4) – Overnight stay in lodges
- All meals starting with lunch on the first day and ending with lunch on the last day
Optional: English speaking guide
What we recommend to take with you:
- Backpack
- Comfortable walking shoes that can get wet or dirty
- Insect repellent
- Sun block
- A hat or cap against the sun
- Binoculars
- Light clothes (like cotton) and shirts with long sleeves
- Rain jacket
- Light pullover (in winter, from May to September, temperatures can suddenly fall until 10 degrees Celsius)
- Bathing clothes
- Passport
- Yellow fever certificate
NOTE: These are reference programs. Programs can be changed due to the weather conditions. Also, programs can be adjusted to your travel scheme. Your time of arrival in Puerto Suarez depends on if you travel by train or by airplane. There are also different trains and different airlines that travel to Puerto Suarez. We can arrange the train or airplane tickets for you. Please contact us for more information or for making a reservation.
If you wish to stay longer or shorter, please let us know, we can make organize a tailor made tour.