Wild Brazil: A Journey Through the Southern Pantanal

Today marks the beginning of your unforgettable adventure as you depart from the NEW YORK. After final preparations and excitement building throughout the day, we board our overnight international flight bound for a land of extraordinary landscapes, rich cultures, and unforgettable experiences. Settle into your seat, relax, and let the anticipation of your tailor-made holiday ahead begin to unfold. As the aircraft ascends into the evening sky, your journey of discovery, wonder, and connection officially begins. Get ready for an adventure filled with vivid moments, breathtaking sights, and memories that will stay with you forever.

Welcome to Brazil! Upon arrival in the vibrant city of Sao Paulo, you will be warmly greeted and transferred to your hotel. After a long international flight, today is reserved for relaxation and recovery. Take the time to unwind, enjoy the hotel facilities, or stroll through the surrounding neighbourhoods to get your first taste of Brazil’s dynamic culture and energy. This day of leisure sets the perfect tone before the adventures in the wild Pantanal begin.

After breakfast, we return to the airport for our domestic flight to Campo Grande, the lively gateway to the Southern Pantanal. Upon landing, we set off by road towards Fazenda Baia Das Pedras, deep within one of the world’s richest ecosystems. The scenic six-hour journey takes us through open grasslands, shimmering lagoons, and forest patches — keep your eyes peeled for early glimpses of wildlife along the way.

By late afternoon, we arrive at Fazenda Baia Das Pedras, a family-run working farm set on 17,000 hectares of pristine land. After settling into our comfortable rooms and a warm welcome, we gather for a traditional dinner, excited for the incredible wildlife encounters that await us in the coming days.

Wake up surrounded by the rich sounds of the Pantanal as your first full day of exploration begins. With three full days to discover the natural wonders of Fazenda Baia Das Pedras, today we set off across the property’s diverse landscapes, a mosaic of savannah, forest, and shimmering pools. Our mission is to seek out some of the Pantanal’s most iconic and elusive creatures, starting with the extraordinary giant anteater, which thrives here in unusually high densities. We may also encounter their smaller, tree-loving cousins, the charming southern tamandua.

Venturing deeper into this wildlife paradise, we keep an eye out for playful coatis and agile crab-eating foxes, while colourful birdlife fills the skies. Sightings of greater rhea and red-legged seriema are common across the open plains, while vibrant parrots, parakeets, and flocks of macaws create a vivid backdrop to our adventures. Around the pools, great gatherings of herons, ibis, and storks reveal the thriving waterbird life that the Pantanal is famed for.

Today offers another exciting opportunity to explore the wilds of Baia Das Pedras. Alongside our daily wildlife searches, we hope to have a rare privilege: the chance to meet researchers studying the elusive giant armadillo. If conditions allow, we may join them during their field studies to learn more about these remarkable and mysterious creatures, whose nocturnal habits make sightings incredibly special.

Elsewhere on the property, other species of armadillo scurry across the open ground, while stealthy tayras and elegant ocelots remain hidden treasures of the forest. Our explorations may also reveal sightings of tapirs and small groups of collared peccaries, quietly foraging through the undergrowth. With each step, the Pantanal reveals new secrets, rewarding the patient explorer with unforgettable wildlife encounters.

Our final full day at Baia Das Pedras invites us to explore the subtler wonders of the Pantanal. Setting out on foot or by safari vehicle, we venture into quieter corners of the property where smaller creatures, rare plants, and delicate ecosystems thrive. Burrowing owls perch watchfully across open ground, while groups of deer — marsh deer, pampas deer, and shy brocket deer — emerge from the forests to graze at the water’s edge.

While the larger mammals often capture attention, today we also appreciate the beauty of the Pantanal’s delicate ecosystems. With luck and patience, we may catch a glimpse of more elusive predators such as the secretive puma moving through the dense forests. As the sun sets across this endless wilderness, we gather once more to reflect on the incredible diversity we have witnessed and to celebrate our final evening in one of the world’s richest and most enchanting wildlife regions.

After a final morning soaking up the wild beauty of Baia Das Pedras, we bid farewell to this remarkable haven and continue our journey deeper into the Southern Pantanal. Our transfer to Fazenda Barranco Alto is much more than just travel — it is an extended safari across the patchwork of landscapes that define this region. Along the way, vibrant flashes of birdlife line the roadsides, with sightings of herons, hawks, toucans, and colourful macaws adding excitement to the journey.

Upon arrival at Fazenda Barranco Alto, we settle in and enjoy a delicious lunch, surrounded by the calls of coatis rustling in the undergrowth and the playful antics of capybaras nearby. High in the trees, striking hyacinth macaws and toco toucans greet us, welcoming us into another slice of Pantanal paradise. If time allows this afternoon, we embark on our first exploration, setting out into this pristine environment to discover the rich biodiversity that surrounds us.

Our new home for the next four nights, Fazenda Barranco Alto, spans approximately 13,000 hectares of largely untouched wilderness. Although it remains a working cattle ranch, the property’s deep commitment to conservation ensures a peaceful, authentic, and personal wildlife experience. Here, amidst remote tranquility, we prepare for days filled with unforgettable encounters and breathtaking moments in one of Brazil’s most extraordinary ecosystems.

Our first full day at Fazenda Barranco Alto invites us to truly immerse ourselves in the extraordinary biodiversity of the Southern Pantanal. With the freedom to explore by foot, game drive, boat, canoe, or even on horseback, the opportunities for wildlife encounters are endless. Across the sweeping open grasslands, we search for majestic tapirs, graceful marsh deer, and solitary giant anteaters wandering through the landscape. In the skies and around the water’s edge, large flocks of waders, storks, and herons create a living tapestry of colour and life.

Moving into the gallery forests, the calls of black-and-gold howler monkeys echo through the trees, while vivid birdlife abounds. Keep your binoculars ready for dazzling sightings of red-and-green macaws, blue-and-yellow macaws, and the beautiful golden-collared macaw. As the day unfolds, every corner of the property reveals new wonders waiting to be discovered.

Another day of exploration begins, with fresh opportunities to experience the wild magic of the Pantanal. Today, we deepen our understanding of the region’s vital conservation efforts. Fazenda Barranco Alto plays a crucial role in the study of the endangered giant river otters, and with luck, we may catch a glimpse of these playful families navigating the waterways. The smaller neotropical otter is also commonly sighted along riverbanks and channels.

While big cat sightings are less common in the southern Pantanal, the ranch supports healthy populations of both jaguar and puma. Every game drive carries the thrilling possibility of encountering one of these elusive predators. Meanwhile, the forests continue to delight with glimpses of great-horned owls, delicate blue-crowned trogons, and flocks of brightly coloured parrots and macaws lighting up the canopy.

Our final full day at Fazenda Barranco Alto offers the chance to delve even deeper into the life of the Pantanal. We set out once more across the mosaic of wetlands, forests, and savannahs, in search of creatures great and small. The relaxed pace of exploration allows us to truly appreciate the intricate beauty of the ecosystem, from the bustling activity of crab-eating foxes and raccoons to the silent grace of tapirs moving at dusk.

As darkness falls, a new world awakens. Tonight, we may venture out on an exhilarating night safari, scanning the landscape with spotlights in hopes of uncovering rarer nocturnal creatures. From stealthy predators to unexpected small mammals, the thrill of discovery continues under the star-filled Pantanal sky, bringing a perfect close to our unforgettable stay at Fazenda Barranco Alto.

Our final morning at Fazenda Barranco Alto is a time to soak up the last magical moments in this extraordinary corner of the Pantanal. Before we depart, there is still time to savour the wildlife around the lodge — perhaps a final glimpse of capybaras grazing by the water, or macaws flashing bright across the open skies. Every moment feels precious as we bid farewell to this incredible wilderness.

We then embark on our return journey to Campo Grande, a scenic six-hour drive across the sweeping landscapes of southern Brazil. Keep your cameras ready, as sightings of birds, deer, and maybe even an anteater along the roadside can add a final flourish to our wildlife adventure. Arriving by early evening, we settle into our comfortable hotel where there is time to relax and reflect on the unforgettable journey we have shared.

Today marks the final chapter of our unforgettable adventure through Brazil’s wild and vibrant heartlands. After breakfast, we transfer to the airport in Campo Grande and board our domestic flight to Sao Paulo. As we take to the skies once more, the lush landscapes of the Pantanal slowly fade beneath us, leaving behind memories of extraordinary wildlife encounters and breathtaking scenery.

Upon arrival in São Paulo, we connect with our international flight back to the NEW YORK. As we settle into our journey home, we carry with us the vivid colours, sounds, and sensations of this incredible expedition — a journey of discovery, wonder, and deep connection with nature that will be remembered for years to come.