The start of your Pantanal & jaguar safari. We will welcome you at the airport or your hotel. From there we drive 100km to the city of Pocone. Pocone is the gateway to the Pantanal.

From Pocone we transition from a paved road onto the Transpantaneira highway which is a dirt road. For approx. 40km we continue on the dirt road while enjoying the wildlife and wetland on both sides of the road until we arrive at Rio Claro.

We’ll stay one night at a lodge on the edge of the sluggish Rio Claro River, and one of the highlights here are the afternoon boat trips on the river. A relaxing way to see the very rare Agami and Boat-billed Herons, Blue-throated Piping-Guan, Black-collared Hawk, up to five species of kingfisher, Giant Otter, and more. As darkness falls, Band-tailed Nighthawks appear to hunt insects over the river along with huge Greater Bulldog Bats. Spotlighting for nightjars in the evening might get us Spot-tailed Nightjars, and Pauraque.

Early morning walk for bird and wildlife viewing. A nearby trail passes through gallery forest along the edge of the river, which can be loaded with birds in the morning. The open nature of the forest makes it relatively easy to see them, and Band-tailed Antbird, Large-billed Antwren, and Helmeted Manakin can usually be seen without too much difficulty. A Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl imitation can often bring in large mobbing hordes of passerines, like Flavescent Warbler, Ashy-headed Greenlet, Stripe-necked Tody-Tyrant, and others. We can also target anything else we are still looking for, which could include White-naped Xenopsaris, Pale-crested Woodpecker, or Nanday Parakeet.

Road transfer from Pixaim River to Porto Jofre. After Lunch, we’ll board On our Open Car and drive south towards the end of the Pantanal Highway. We’ll be making stops along the route any time and every time we fell there are birds to be watched. This activity will allow us to explore different types of habitat at the Pantanal such: Marshes, Savannas and Forests. So, the chances of seeing many kinds of birds will be very good such as: Rufous-tailed Jacamar, White-lored and Cinereous-breasted Spinetail, Mato Grosso , Red-billed Scythebill, Flavescent Warbler, Purplish Jay, Orange-backed Oriole (Troupial), Crested Oropendola, Solitary Black-Cacique, Blue-crowned Trogon, Black-fronted Nunbird, Silver-beaked Tanager, Rusty-collared and White-bellied Seedeaters, Lesser/Chestnut-bellied Seed-Finch.

We’ll reach our very comfortable accommodation at the very end of the road, arriving in time for Dinner.

Jaguar is the main target here, and we’ll spend the full day cruising various rivers in a motorboat looking for this magnificent animal. We have radio contact with other boats, so if there is a jaguar seen we can head for the location.

Jaguars here are not very shy and will often stay in view for an extended period of time. We will not ignore other birds and wildlife during our search, but Jaguar is the priority. Some birds we may see include: Sungrebe, Pied Lapwing, Yellow-billed and Large-billed Terns, Black Skimmer, Greater Ani, Anhinga, Great Black Hawk, Gray-necked Wood-Rail, and more. Families of Giant Otters are fairly common, and it is not too unusual to see a Tapir.

Instead of returning to the lodge for lunch we bring a picnic style lunch with us. That way we do not lose time and can enjoy our lunch in the prime jaguar habitat and in some occasions enjoy a sighting by ourselves, no other boats.

We return around 5:30-6:00 pm at the lodge to refresh and relax before dinner.

Early breakfast and check-out. We embark on our safari truck and drive back on the Transpantaneira highway towards the Mato Grosso Pantanal Hotel. Along the way, we will have plenty of opportunities to stop and enjoy the wildlife we encounter.

We arrive at Mato Grosso in time for lunch. In the afternoon, we can explore by car or on foot.

At Mato Grosso Hotel, we have excellent opportunities to spot Giant Anteater, Southern Tamandua, Hyacinth Macaws, Blue-and-Yellow Macaws, Red-legged Seriema, and many more wildlife species.