Pantanal and Indian Tour - With Specialist Guide
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Mato Grosso is located in the Midwest region of Brazil. It is divided into three types of regions or biomes: Amazon, Cerrado and Pantanal which makes Mato Grosso a state of infinite natural wealth, besides having several National Parks such as Chapada dos Guimarães, Mato Grosso National Park, the National Park do Jurena and Xingu Indigenous Park, the largest Indian reservation in the world.
This is a Specialist-led immersion into the indigenous communities of Mato Grosso and a wildlife experience in the Pantanal 
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Nov 29 – Origin – Cuiabá – Aldeia Wazare (D)
You will be met at the airport in Cuiabá. Then you will have a presentation by Benedito, who will guide you on the journey through this beautiful region and its inhabitants. We will go by land to the Aldeia Wazare on a 5 hour drive through the region of Campo Novo do Parecis, Mato Grosso municipality. Then we will be greeted by the chief of the tribe who will tell us about the project of the village, established since 2011, in order to develop ethnic tourism and organize it as an alternative livelihood for its 33 inhabitants. After the reception we’ll be privileged to attend a welcome dance by members of the community with their typical costumes and paintings. We end the day with a dinner consisting of native dishes and the presentation of our accommodation. We sleep in hammocks in the village. Nov 30 – Aldea Wazare (B, L, D) Throughout the day we will be immersed in the life of this community. We can live and experience a normal day of the Indians. We’ll share typical food and carry out with them the activities of their daily life. We will get to know the Paresi culture, the history, how they have adapted to the growth of agriculture and how they have maintained their traditions. We will have the opportunity to also acknowledge their society, their alternative livelihood and their attitude towards nature and reservation. Dec 1 – Aldeia Wazare – Aldeia 4 Cachoeiras – Aldeia Utiariti – Aldeia Wazare (B, L, D) We leave early after breakfast on a journey of about 1.5 hours, bound for Aldeia 4 Cachoeiras, whose name comes from the four beautiful waterfalls formed by River Sacre located in this territory. The village has 30 inhabitants where their hatis (traditional houses) and wooden houses show a greater influence of foreign culture. We will have the opportunity to talk with Chief Narciso who will tell us about the values and customs of this second community. After sharing a bit with this group, we will continue traveling another 2.5 hours until reaching the third village, called Salto do Utiarity. For Paresi, the word Utiarity means wise people; there is a legend saying that the Utyia were a separate group from the Paresi nation, who made future predictions and lived in a place behind the waterfall. The village is made up of wood and masonry houses spaced apart from one another. They also have a nursery school, a football field, and by making a beautiful and short walk it is possible to reach the Salto de Utiarity, a stunning waterfall in the middle of this beautiful preserved region. After lunch at the place (box lunch) we return to Wazare village for dinner and sleep. Dec 2 – Aldeia Wazare – Nobres (B) After breakfast we will leave Aldeia Wazare bound for Nobres, but not before taking time to say farewell to the community. Our journey takes about 2.5 hours to Nobres, a small town located 140 Km from Cuiabá. As a region with a high concentration of limestone and dolomite, many caves and caverns have been discovered, decorated with various types of speleothems like stalactites, stalagmites, columns, curtains, beads, among others. Due to its strategic location and being typical of areas with limestone, the area is crossed by rivers and lakes of extremely clear waters, a habitat of various fish and plant species. So in the afternoon, after lunch, we’ll walk 1 Km to the Aquário Encantado and the River Salobra. The aquarium is one of the river’s headwaters (6 meters deep) and the first place where we go snorkeling, and then we continue along the Salobra River, a distance of 500m floating, getting carried along by the current. We ’ll be able to see the nature of the region from within the water, in a refreshing and relaxing ride. Then we go to our hotel. Dec 3 – Nobres – Pantanal (B, L, D) After breakfast we leave Nobres bound for our first stop in the Pantanal, a journey of about 4 hours, passing by the municipality of Poconé to the pousada. The Pantanal is a huge flooded area and is the perfect habitat for a large number of mammals, birds, reptiles and other species, transforming it into the largest ecological sanctuary of the Americas, to the delight of photographers and wildlife explorers. We’ll arrive at our pousada, have lunch, and in the afternoon we will do our first activity in the surrounding area; a walk that will allow us to understand the nature of the region, its seasons, its special features, its fauna and flora. Dinner and overnight at the pousada. Dec 4 – Pantanal (B, L, D) Breakfast in the Pantanal and then we get ready to travel around the area on horseback, typical regional transport. The ride is done through corixos, small rivers that flow into larger rivers, allowing the contemplation of animals, birds and allowing us to get very close to them in dry and flooded areas. The Pantanal horse is unsurpassed in this activity, is the only one who can survive here, docile and intelligent, thus an inseparable friend for the Pantanal man. After this equine activity, lunch at the pousada and we'll come back to discover more of this mysterious ecosystem, this time by motor boat. We’ll ride on the corixos and bays of the region while we have the opportunity to see reptiles such as alligators and different types of birds such as storks and pelicans. And at the end of the afternoon, the sunset will be the peak of this unforgettable ride. We return for dinner. Dec 5 – Pantanal (B, L, D) After breakfast we depart by the Transpantaneira to the south, for about 2.5 hours. This transfer is a true photographic safari with several stops along the road where we can observe capybaras, deer and other typical animals of the Pantanal. We'll reach our next pousada in time for lunch. In the afternoon we are going to walk around to explore the vegetation and take the opportunity to do bird watching. We’ll be able to spot different small and medium size species, learn about the places they live in and discover some of their habits. We’ll have dinner and sleep in our new pousada. Dec 6 – Pantanal (B, L, D) We leave very early towards the end of the Transpantaneira road, to a town called Porto Jofre, a journey of about 2 hours. Upon arrival we’ll do a boat trip in this region, which offers the best opportunity to spot some big mammals like the ariranha, a kind of otter, and perhaps also the jaguar! In the dry season (June to October) occasionally we see jaguars on the river beaches. Other wild animals commonly seen are the capybaras and alligators, and birds such as storks, herons and terns. We will have a full day to explore rivers and streams by boat. The Cuiabá and Piquiri rivers are the two main routes for those seeking these exotic animals. At the end of the afternoon we return to the pousada for dinner and night sighting activity. Dec 7 – Pantanal (B,L, D) We get up at 4am to watch the sunrise and accompany the awakening of the Pantanal, with the first sounds, flights of birds and small mammals’ movements. We will have time to take great pictures of this colorful festival. We go back for breakfast and then continue spotting birds from different observation towers available at our pousada. We have lunch and then make a boat trip on the Pixaim River, which has a very peculiar characteristic: during the rainy season (November to April) its water level raises and runs in southeastern direction, but in the dry period its water is scarce and the river stops running transformed into a small lake. This river has a strange beauty and sailing on it we can appreciate different types of monkeys, birds and other animals. Dec 8 – Pantanal – Destination (B) We leave our pousada after breakfast for transfer to the airport of Cuiabá on a trip of about 3.5 hours by the Transpantaneira. In Cuiabá we embark to our destination of origin or we can continue this journey by land to the Chapada dos Guimarães. ACRONYMS B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner |
Dates: Nov. 29-Dec. 8, 2018 Group size: Minimum of 4 people, maximum of 10 people Price per person in US$: $3405. Single Supplement: $390 BOOKING CONDITIONS
1) Guaranteed departure with minimum 4 people 2) Confirmation of group formation will take place 90 days before departure 3) International group with Expert Guide in English only 4) Full payment for services will be required 35 days before departure 5) Full participants’ details (including insurance) will be required 35 days before departure 6) Cancellation Fee Schedule: a.Up to 90 days before departure – 10% of total price b. After 90 days before departure – 100% of total price 7) It is compulsory that all participants be covered by appropriate travel insurance. This insurance should include the following minimum requirements: emergency medical expenses and assistance service, medical repatriation and transportation, as well as burial, cremation or return of medical remains. It is recommended to extend the insurance to include additional benefits such as cancellation or curtailment, personal accident insurance, lost luggage, delays, etc. Benedito has been a Professional Naturalist Guide since 2000. He is a Brazilian nature expert who saw his passion for nature grow when he started to lead nature tours, back in 1995 when he was still was student of Tourism and expanded his knowledge by studying Biology. Since then, thinking about how to balance ecotourism and conservation, he has earned a vast amount of experience leading wildlife tours and nature experiences through the Amazon Rain Forest, Atlantic Rain Forest, Brazilian Cerrado and Pantanal, where he started to build his leading skills in natural history and nature tours. The Pantanal and the Amazon experience gave him a wide understanding about nature and the people living in these wild areas of the remote Brazil and their phenomenological and diverse way of understanding life. Included:
09 night accommodation with breakfast:
Not Included:
USEFUL INFORMATION
What to bring?
Hiking Level of Difficulty: the hikes in Pantanal take place in different zones depending on the season (dry or rainy). The walks are made generally on flat terrains (or almost flat) and are easy. They are short distances (no more than 2Km) and their duration is less than 2 hours due to hard weather conditions with high levels of humidity and heat. Banks and money exchange: The exchange and/or cash withdrawal at ATMs is preferably done at airports for security and because most experiences take place in locations with little banking structure |
