POUSADA RIO ROOSEVELT

Comfort in the Amazon

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Inquire with your desired dates for a custom tour!

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There is little doubt that the Pousada Rio Roosevelt is the most luxurious of a handful of excellent lodges in the southern Brazilian Amazon. Spacious cabins are sensibly equipped with hot water showers, air-conditioning, and a bar fridge stocked with copious amounts of water, soft drinks and ice cold beer. The veranda of each cabin looks out onto a white sand beach, at the edge of which flows the famed Rio Roosevelt, its waters still foamy and broiling after crashing over the impressive rapids just above the lodge. Pristine Amazon rainforest stretches away from the river in all directions farther than the eye can see, beyond even the limits of imagination. This idyllic setting is a naturalist’s paradise. While the tranquility of the place is such that you could easily spend the week on your private front porch, or in the air-conditioned restaurant/lounge reading a book, we’ll spend most of our time investing hard work in the field to reap some of the greatest avian rewards in all of South America...

Our tour spends seven full days at this remote lodge, where we will bird a vast trail system in various types of Amazonian forests along the Roosevelt and Madeirinha rivers. We will also bird by boat, scanning the riverbanks for the abundant and in many cases, tame, wildlife which abounds in this special place. The large-bodied birds and mammals of the Rio Roosevelt, always important biological indicators, have never been hunted and thus shy species such as Razor-billed Curassows and Woolly Monkeys are common and confiding here. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Each day on these rivers brings new spectacles, be it the awkward antics of the prehistoric Hoatzin, the brilliant splashes of green on gray of a flock of parakeets eating algae from exposed rocks in the thundering rapids, or the opportunistic activity of obligate antbirds following swarming army ants. As an eminent Brazilian biologist remarked in the lodge guestbook, "finally I have arrived at a place without the feeling that I am too late." Treading on the banks of the Rio Roosevelt, one cannot help but feel the wildness of the place. Afterwards, relaxing at the Pousada Rio Roosevelt in the evenings, one cannot help but feel that yes, 'this is the way to travel'.

About this tour - Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival in Porto Velho and flight to the Rio Roosevelt. We will meet in Porto Velho, the capital of the state of Rondônia. There are daily connections to Porto Velho from most major Brazilian airports including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia. Once the group is assembled we transfer to a smaller terminal where our chartered small plane will be waiting to take us to the Rio Roosevelt. The flight takes between 70 and 90 minutes, depending on the weather and the size of the plane. As we leave Porto Velho behind the man-made landscape below us will quickly be replaced by swatches, and soon an entire carpet of rich green, as we pass only unbroken forest en route to one of the most remote yet comfortable lodges in the Brazilian Amazon. It is impossible not to feel a thrill as our plane descends steadily, apparently lowering itself into the tall forest canopy, when suddenly the roaring rapids of the Rio Roosevelt appear below us mere seconds before the first bump of an expertly-performed landing.

After a quick welcome drink, we’ll dump our bags and grab our binoculars to get started on a magnificent week’s birding in a truly privileged setting. We’ll probably just hang around the lodge for the first afternoon, but there is a palpable excitement inherent in every moment’s birding at this place and you’re sure to feel it! Night at Pousada Rio Roosevelt.

Days 2 - 9: Pousada Rio Roosevelt. We have seven full days to explore the vast network of forest trails, navigate the Roosevelt and Madeirinha rivers, investigate forest clay licks, and climb the newly constructed canopy tower. It sounds like loads of time, but we’ll leave having really only scratched the surface of the possibilities despite the fact we should record more than 300 species – incredible for just a week at a single site!

Some of the key species at the Pousada Rio Roosevelt include: Razor-billed Curassow, Zigzag Heron, White-browed Hawk, Harpy Eagle, Cryptic Forest-Falcon, Dark-winged Trumpeter (common), Crimson-bellied Parakeet, Kawall’s Amazon, Pavonine Quetzal, Blue-necked Jacamar, Rufous-necked Puffbird, Black-girdled Barbet, Gould’s Toucanet, Bamboo and Glossy Antshrike, Rondonia Bushbird, Ferruginous-backed Antbird, White-breasted Antbird, Pale-faced Antbird, Chestnut-belted and Black-bellied Gnateaters, Rusty-belted Tapaculo, Hoffmanns’ Woodcreeper, Buff-cheeked Tody-Flycatcher, Crimson Fruitcrow, Black-necked Red-Cotinga, Pompadour Cotinga, Snow-capped Manakin (abundant), White-browed Purpletuft, Tooth-billed Wren and Yellow-shouldered Grosbeak. There is also at least one undescribed species of antbird which occurs here in addition to another pair of undescribed antbird taxa which may be described to the species level but could be ‘only’ subspecies.

Mammal enthusiasts should expect many sightings of multiple species of primates including Brown Woolly Monkey, Red-faced Spider Monkey, White-nosed Bearded Saki, the recently described Prince Bernhard's Titi Monkey, the poorly known endemic Marca's Marmoset and several others. Forest clay licks attract Brazilian Tapir, Red Brocket Deer and the handsome Southern Amazon Red Squirrel. The falling water levels of the rivers will reveal sandy beaches where there is a chance we may encounter South America's largest predator, the Jaguar.
Nights at Pousada Rio Roosevelt.

Day 10: Departure. Time flies, especially when you’re seeing new birds. It will be a forlorn final morning, as we need to leave after breakfast to allow time to make connecting flights out of Porto Velho. Multi-tasking birders may want to try their hand at catch-and-release sportfishing, the lodge’s bread and butter... the Rio Roosevelt is visited every year by hundreds of Brazilian fishermen after some of the best fishing in the Amazon. Arrival in Porto Velho and connecting flights to São Paulo or elsewhere in Brazil.

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About this tour - Price: Price available upon request.

About this tour - Difficulty: Fairly easy. Most of our birding will be done from the boat or on flat trails. A few of the trails cover hilly terrain, but the climbs are not difficult and typically short. The heat and humidity, combined with long birding mornings, can wear Northern birders down. We will always rest in the afternoons after lunch during the heat of the day before starting out again as bird activity starts to pick up in the late afternoons. A small fold-up portable chair or stool can be extremely useful.

About this tour - Climate: Hot and humid.

June marks the beginning of the dry season. Rain is always possible, but it is rather unlikely that we'll lose birding time to the weather. Bring rain gear just in case.

About this tour - Accommodation: Very good. The detached cabins have private hot-water shower, air-conditioning and a well-stocked bar fridge in the rooms in addition to plenty of hooks and shelves to hang up field clothing and store books and equipment. Food is excellent and typically features freshly caught fish from the clean river. Power is provided by a generator which is run 24 hours; the electric current is 110V.

Photographic opportunities: Limited but extremely worthwhile. Photography in dense rainforest can be difficult at times due to low light and shy subjects. Opportunites on the river trips are excellent, and we will visit a canopy tower and strategically-placed hides inside the forest. Macro photographers interested in insects, fungi, frogs and plants will be overwhelmed by the diversity of life in the Amazon rainforests.

For inquiries as to availability and pricing in other currencies, please contact us via e-mail at bradley@birdingmatogrosso.com.

This destination is strongly recommended for custom tours for groups of up to 6 participants. Contact us for further details.