THE PANTANAL AND CHAPADA DOS GUIMARÃES
Transpantaneira and Chapada dos Guimarães National Park (7 days)
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About this tour - Suggested Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival in Cuiabá and transfer to the Pantanal. Arrival in Cuiabá when our driver and I will meet you at the airport. We’ll start with a light early lunch before the drive to Poconé, the gateway to the northern Pantanal. Here we get our first taste of the distinctive Pantanal experience, with birds left, right and centre as we head south on the world-famous Transpantaneira – the dirt ‘highway’ which penetrates deep into the heart of the world’s largest freshwater wetland – to our first destination, the Pousada Piuval some ten kilometres south of Poconé. In the afternoon we walk and drive amongst natural forest patches surrounded by dry floodplain savannas, where we should see our first Hyacinth Macaws of the trip. Night at Piuval.
Day 2: Pousada Piuval. After breakfast we’ll bird the excellent dry and gallery forests on the lodge property. These forests can be very active in the early mornings, and we’ll be on the lookout for Red-billed Scythebill, Great Rufous Woodcreeper, Dull-capped Attila and other passerines. The dry fields between the forest islands are good for Red-legged Seriema, Bare-faced Curassow and Chestnut-bellied Guan. We bird our way to the bank of the Bento Gomes river, where lodge staff will meet us for a boat trip. On the river itself we’ll find Purple Gallinules and have a chance for Least Bittern or a crake amongst the extensive beds of water hyacinths. A couple of large rookeries are usually filled with hundreds of herons, egrets, storks and spoonbills. We’ll stop at another forest island and walk a short trail to look for Black-collared Hawk, Mato Grosso Antbird and Black Howler Monkey. After lunch at the pousada, we’ll bird dry forest and fields along the entrance road where Greater Rhea, Long-tailed Ground-Dove and Chotoy Spinetail can be seen found. In the evening we can go for a night drive to look for mammals or perhaps the Great Horned Owls which are sometimes seen around the lodge. Night at Piuval.
Day 3: Transpantaneira. This morning we will bird our way south along the Transpantaneira, the raised dirt highway through the heart of the northern Pantanal. Many of the most evident species on the morning will be old friends already, but the sheer numbers of birds gathering at diminishing fresh water sources is a spectacle you will not soon forget. We should also see many new species, perhaps including Golden-collared Macaws and Nanday Parakeets. Our destination is a pleasant lodge 100 kilometres to the south, where we should arrive in time for lunch. In the afternoon we will head to the Cuiabá river to search for Jaguar. Boat trips on the Cuiabá and Three Brothers rivers from Porto Jofre in the dry season have produced a remarkable number of Jaguar sightings, particularly during the past three years as local operators have refined their search methods. There is of course no guarantee that we will see this elusive predator in a single afternoon trip (which is why we’ll try the following morning as well, if necessary), but we stand as good a chance here as anywhere else in the world. In the late afternoon we will stop at the Campos do Jofre to drink in the Pantanal spectacle in a vast wetland area dotted liberally with Capybaras, caimans, storks, screamers and many other waterbirds. As night falls we should see Band-tailed and Nacunda Nighthawks coming out to hunt in the open areas. Spotlighting during the return drive to the lodge could produce mammals including Brazilian Tapir or an Ocelot. Night at Jaguar Lodge.
Day 4: To Pantanal Wildlife Center. If necessary, this morning we will return to the Cuiabá river to continue our search for Jaguar. Otherwise we bird around the lodge or in a nearby forest patch to look for Fawn-breasted Wren and others. After lunch at Pousada Jaguar, we check out and board our van to drive north on the Transpantaneira to our third lodge located on the banks of the Pixaim river. We should have time in the afternoon for a river trip where Sungrebe and Agami Heron are possibilities. Night at Pantanal Wildlife Center.
Day 5: PWC and transfer to Chapada. We’ll take a morning walk in the gallery forest behind our hotel, looking for the spectacular Helmeted Manakin and the localized Pale-crested Woodpecker; Plain Tyrannulet, Stripe-necked Tody-Tyrant and Undulated Tinamou are also here. We’ll check out by mid-morning and drive north to Poconé, from where it is roughly three hours drive to Chapada dos Guimarães, a scenic national park on a red sandstone plateau northeast of Cuiabá. If there is time, we’ll do a bit of birding en route in the late afternoon, stopping at the Coxipó do Ouro road, a good spot for Chapada Flycatcher and Coal-crested Finch. After dinner at our comfortable lodge inside the national park, we can do a bit of night birding to look for Scissor-tailed Nightjar and Tropical Screech-Owl. Night at Pousada do Parque.
Day 6: Chapada dos Guimarães. We have a full day to bird the Chapada area, and we'll start early in scrubby cerrado where a number of specialties occur, including White-eared Puffbird, Collared Crescentchest, Rufous-sided Pygmy-Tyrant and White-banded and White-rumped Tanagers. As the day heats up we can move to an area of shady gallery forest to look for Saffron-billed and Pectoral Sparrows, Fiery-capped Manakin and White-backed Fire-eye. At the right time of year, banks of planted flowers attract many hummingbirds including Planalto Hermit, White-vented Violet-ear and sometimes even the diminutive Dot-eared Coquette. Before lunch we'll stop at a reliable lek to try for Band-tailed Manakin.
After a pleasant lunch beside a waterfall in the park (where Lettered Araçari, Swallow-wing and Brown Jacamar are all possibilities), we can call at the impressive Bridal Veil falls where Biscutate Swift occurs and soaring raptors can be seen on hot days. More optional night birding at the pousada this evening. Night at Pousada do Parque.
Day 7: Chapada to Cuiabá and departure. There should be time this morning to repeat part of the morning itinerary from Day 6, or we may bird elsewhere if we cleaned up on the cerrado specialties the first time around. A possibility for our final morning is a quiet road through nice forest where we may find Southern Antpipit, Band-tailed Manakin, and either of Pheasant or Pavonine Cuckoo. We will wrap up this final morning in time to return to Cuiabá so that we may arrive at the airport in plenty of time for domestic departures. Please consult with us before booking your domestic travel to/from Cuiabá.
About this tour - Price: The cost of this tour is (2012 Price Pending) USD per person in double occupancy. The tour begins and ends in Cuiabá.
About this tour - Difficulty: Easy. All birding will be done on flat trails or roads, and from small motor boats on river trips. Most of the wildlife is easy to see and approach. We will be doing some optional spotlighting outings in the evenings to look for mammals and nightbirds.
About this tour - Climate: Hot and humid in the Pantanal, drier in Chapada dos Guimarães. This is the dry season, which means that we will encounter dusty conditions on the Transpantaneira and around Chapada. Rain is always possible, but rather unlikely unless a cold front from the south pushes a weather system into the area, in which case we could receive rain and cool temperatures. Bring rain gear and a light jacket just in case.
About this tour - Accommodation: Good. All accommodations have ensuite facilities with electric- or solar-heated showers. Food is good to excellent and is comprised of delicious local ingredients. Electric current is 110V at most hotels we use in the Pantanal and Chapada, though 220V is a possibility if we are required to stay in alternative accommodation due to availability - please bring a transformer if necessary.
Photographic opportunities: Excellent. The Pantanal is a wildlife photographer's dream destination.
For inquiries as to availability and pricing in other currencies, please contact us via e-mail at bradley@birdingmatogrosso.com.
all material on this site ©2011 Bradley Davis unless otherwise noted