THE PANTANAL

The Pantanal is quickly becoming the most popular area in Brazil for nature adventures outside the Amazon Jungle. In many ways, the Pantanal offers a more authentic wildlife experience than the Amazon, which is all too often touristy and commercial. In the Pantanal, tourism is not the main event, meaning the tourism industry has not run amok with the infrastructure, turning a natural environment into a hokey, staged animal show. Visits to the Pantanal are marked by authentic animal encounters, photographic safaris by day and night, observation of huge, colorful birds, and boat trips up the marshy wetlands filled with caiman alligators. Also memorable are the abundant lunches and dinners that provide a taste of the regional foods, including succulent barbecued meats.

The lowlands known as the Pantanal comprise 140,000 square kilometers and are divided into various regions, called pantanais, which lie in the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, with some corners reaching into Bolivia and Paraguay. The water that fills the Pantanal—with its rich mixture of calcium and magnesium—comes cascading off the high mountains sparkling clear, but sadly undrinkable. The area is known to be the world’s largest wetland and is home to an immense variety of wildlife, including at least 80 species of mammals, 650 species of birds, and 50 species of reptiles. Some of the most celebrated of the Pantanal species are the jaguar, blue macaw, anteater, stork (the largest bird in the region), pink flamingo, snowy egret, red billed toucan, and the caiman (a crocodilian). You’ll also find more than 1,000 different butterflies and countless fish species. The flora of the area is especially diverse, with a great many water plants, but also lowland chaparral, grasses, plains species, and dense forest.

There are two principal seasons in the Pantanal: the dry season and the wet season. The dry season, spanning June–September, is an excellent time for jeep safaris and bird-watching excursions, as many species are caring for their offspring during these months. This is generally the peak season in the Pantanal, since most people prefer to avoid the rain. It’s easy to spot families of capybara and deer; and the ponds and marshlands are often filled with tiny caiman alligators. Egrets and storks protect their nests in the various trees of the area. The wet season, which spans October–March, is also a great time to visit. Waterways and lakes are brimming over, making boat safaris the favorite excursion of the season. The waterways, lakes, and marshlands themselves are interesting, with their many varieties of plants and different colors of water. Most of the area is swarming with caimans, the single most abundant species in the region, with numbers estimated at more than 30 million.

The second most abundant species in the Pantanal—more abundant than humans, which are third on the list—is the cow. Introduced into the region almost 200 years ago, cattle represent the area’s most important resource, with an estimated 24 million head in Mato Grosso do Sul—5 million of which are in the Pantanal region. Interestingly, the impact of the cattle-farming industry is small on the delicate ecosystems in the Pantanal. About 98 percent of the Pantanal is privately owned and most of the owners are cattle ranchers. Thankfully, due to environmental protection laws, large ranches are required to preserve vast areas of wildlife. Many ranches have put up hotels or lodges in which you can stay and explore the wetlands via guided safaris in jeeps, in boats, on horseback, or on foot. The best safaris are at sunrise or after dark. Just about every nature lodge in the Pantanal, in addition to providing accommodations and adventures for tourists, is also a working cattle ranch. The fact that cattle production is more important and lucrative than tourism keeps the whole system from exploding out of control, as can be seen in the many beach towns of Brazil and in the Amazon to some extent. And you can even participate in a boiadeira (cattle drive) across the great fields of the Pantanal.

For most travelers, a highlight of their trip to the Pantanal is an adventure they had in the region around Bonito. Representing a kind of southern entrance to the Pantanal, Bonito is where many of the area’s rivers begin, high up in mountains. The area is filled with fresh-water rivers, natural springs, caves, waterfalls, and mountain peaks. Adventure travel is so abundant here that the area has turned into a huge adventure park where guides take groups out to see (and participate in) the many natural wonders of the area. You’ll snorkel down clear, fresh-water streams, hike to tall waterfalls, swim in rivers and streams, rappel, scuba dive—the list goes on and on. As much as you’ll be a mere observer in the Pantanal, you’ll be an active participant in Bonito.