Brazil: Amazon - Pantanal - Foz do Iguacu:

Brazil nature paradise, Brazil holidays, Brazil trips, Brazil tours, Amazon, Pantanal, Foz do Iguazu, Watching animals in Pantanal, Amazon myth, Jungle experiences, Jungle lodges, The biggest and most beautiful waterfalls in the world, natural paradises in Brazil

 

Brazil Round Trip: Natural Paradises in Brazil

Amazon   Pantanal/Chapada dos Guimarães   Foz do Iguazu

 

17 days from Manaus to Foz do Iguaçu, led by guides who know the area well and who speak English

 

The ideal journey for those who love animals and nature. It begins in the Amazon: where you will get to know the unbelievable flora and fauna of the rainforest during boat trips and walks in the jungle. Visiting the locals will offer you an insight into their daily lives. Spend nights in a jungle lodge.

You will spend the second part of your journey in Pantanal. Over here in this nature paradise, discover the world of indigenous plants and animals, on foot, by boat, or on horseback. Some of the accommodation has been tailored to accommodate families. It may not be all that luxurious but it is comfortable.

The final part of your journey takes you to Foz do Iguazu, South Brazil. While here you can marvel at the power and beauty of the giant waterfalls in the three-country corner off Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.

 

Day overview in brief:

 

Day 1: Departure flight from Europe

Day 2: Arrive in Manaus

Day 3: Jungle lodging in the Amazon

Day 4: Jungle lodging in the Amazon

Day 5: Jungle lodging in the Amazon

Day 6: Jungle lodging in the Amazon

Day 7: Jungle lodging in the Amazon - Manaus - Extended flight to Cuiabá

Day 8: National park Chapada dos Guimarães

Day 9: Pantanal - Piuval Guest House

Day 10: Pantanal - Jaguar-Eco-Lodge

Day 11: Pantanal - Jaguar-Eco-Lodge

Day 12: Pantanal - Rio Claro Guest House

Day 13: Further excursion into the "three countries corner" (Argentina / Brazil / Paraguay), in Foz do Iguaçu

Day 14: Foz do Iguaçu - Visiting the waterfalls on the Brazilian side

Day 15: Foz do Iguaçu - Visiting the waterfalls on the Argentinian side

Day 16: Flying back to home location - departure from BRAZIL or individual extension

Day 17: Arrival in home location

 

 

Journey description

 

Day 1: Departure from Europe

Day 2: Arrival in Manaus

You will be picked up from the airport and taken into the Rio Negro guest house. Having arrived in the pousada (guest house), settle into your comfortable room. The guest house is in a very central location. All the town's highlights can be accessed on foot: the famous Amazon Theatre, the dock with its market halls, and the Indian Museum (Museo dos Indios) are just a 10-minute walk away. The Palacio Rio Negro Culture Museum is located directly on the other side of the street. Venture into the heart of the Amazon area on your own feet and discover the metropolis there. The person in charge of the guest house is a German-speaking Brazilian woman. The atmosphere is a very personal and friendly one. (-/-/-)

 

 

Day 3: Excursion to the jungle lodge on the Amazon

You will be picked up at the guest house in the morning. The car journey to the Ceasa sea port lasts roughly twenty minutes. A speedboat will take you from there to the Careiro da Varzea cottage. This is where you will cross the river - you will see that it is here where the Negro and the Solimões meet up and form the Amazon. It is here that that it extends its way into the Atlantic Ocean.

After a stop in the fruit market you will take a bus, which will take you to the Araça river via the Manaus-Porto Velho Highway. Then you will get in a boat. Local cottages lie along on this route; we also pass bays that offer a sight of water lillies, with their enormous fins. It is an ideal opportunity to see all kinds of wild birds, alligators, fish, snakes and apes.

As midday approaches, you will reach the Dolphin Lodge, where the midday meal is already waiting for you: consisting of freshwater fish, different kinds of meat, chicken, salads and exotic fruits from the Amazon region. After refreshments there is a boat tour, offering you an overview of the region. While on this trip you will be able to watch apes, sloths, iguanas, spiders and many different kinds of birds.

You will be back at the restaurant in the Dolphin Lodge in just enough time for your evening meal. (B/L/D)

 

 

Day 4: Jungle lodge

Rise and shine before daybreak and experience a scene of sunrise that you cannot get outside of the Amazon. Interesting animals active in the early morning can be observed during these early hours.

You will then proceed to go on a jungle survival tour, where your experienced leader will teach you how to survive in the jungle: showing tree-climbing techniques and how to find drinking water and food. Experience also the full range of the flora and fauna, and the biodiversity of the region. You head back to the lodge on midday.

After the midday meal, a rowing boat adventure is the next thing on the program - it will allow you to further discover the area. These light boats are excellent for moving through the water inconspicuously in order to see so many animals.

We will conclude it in the evening with a trip in motorised canoes, where you will get to discover caimans. Equipped with torches, you will go on the hunt for the sight of caimans in the water. We will take you there with none but our bare hands. You will even get the chance to hold a caiman, if you want. You can of course take photos here. (B/L/D)

Day 5: Jungle lodge

In the morning you will visit a Caboclo house, and get to learn local customs and culture. You will see rubber and cassava plantations up close. This is a good opportunity to take photos of the local areas and to see what fruits, Brazil nuts, herbs, vegetables and spices are gathered in the jungle. Also see first-hand how the Caboclos prepare their meals in which they make use of all such ingredients.

And you too will get to sample exotic products.

Then, back in the Dolphin Lodge for the midday meal. In the evening you will able to enjoy the moon and the stars in the heart of the jungle. Soak up the soul of it all, and relax in our hammocks. (B/L/D)

Day 6: Jungle lodge

Today is the day you will get to learn about the medicinal plants of the region. A jungle tour follows breakfast - the guide will explain things worth knowing about these plants: where you find them, and what diseases they can be used to treat. All these things are snippets of information passed on from local Indian tribes. You will also get to see how rubber is produced. It involves a process whereby latex is tapped from the tree trunk without having even having to cut the tree down.

Then, back to the Dolphin Lodge for the midday meal, at 12 o'clock. During the afternoon and the evening you will have the chance to watch the dolphins in the river. (B/L/D)

 

 

Day 7: Jungle lodge - Manaus - extended trip to Cuiabá

After breakfast in the morning you will get to experience the Brazilian natural paradise during a canoe trip. Cross flooded areas (or igapós, as they are formally known) and row through igrapés (small canals). You will get the chance to experience fresh water dolphins here. You will also get to visit a school in a local village / the local municipality. After the midday meal there will take place - in the run-up to 13:00 - the transfer back to Manaus; you will arrive in the run-up to 17:00. This is followed by the transfer to the airport and the extended flight to Cuiabá.

Your tour guide will pick you up at the airport and from there you will go to Chapada dos Guimarães in a climatised minibus. When you get there you will spend a night in the centre of the town, in the Hotel Turismo. (B/-/-)

Day 8: Chapada dos Guimarães National Park

After breakfast, experience the unique natural beauty of this ecosystem, with its waterfalls, caves and plateau mountain ranges, as well as the cliff sculptures. The craggy Chapada dos Guimarães forms a plateau; and this is what constitutes the watershed between the river system of the Amazon and that of the Rio Paraguay. When making an on-foot journey through the highland you can take a bath under one of the many waterfalls. Visit also the Casa de Pedra cave, through which there flows an underground river.

Later on you will get to experience the view from Morro de São Jerônimo at 860m. This is also location of the highest waterfall of the region (Véu de Noiva) – 86m in height, in pours into a majestic canyon. In the centre of the National Park there lies the town of Chapada, in the federal state of Mato Grosso, situated some 70km north of Cuiabá. The oldest building in this small but very attractive town is the church, erected in 1779.

In the evening you will head back to the Hotel Turismo. (B/-/D)

 

 

Day 9: Pantanal - Pousada Piuval

The next natural paradise in Brazil is already waiting for you: once breakfast is over you will head from Chapada dos Guimarães to Poconé (the last town before Pantanal) in a climatised minibus / automobile (depending on the number of travellers). You will pause to have the midday meal with a typical Brazilian family.

Then the journey goes on: to the Piuval Guest House. The guest house itself is very beautiful; situated direct in the Transpantaneira area. It is indeed visited by many other tourists and international students. The lodge has a total of more than 19 rooms available, all of which have climate control, bath / shower, a refridgerated bar and a ventilator; some of them also come with a TV. There is a TV in the "community room", a restaurant as well as a swimming pool also offer variety and the chance to make new acquaintances. The environment is marked by tunnel forests, with their palm trees; they also contain entire swarms of hyacinth macaws, which are indeed well worth observing and of course photographing. In addition, you can expect to encounter rare birds of prey as well as flightless birds. (B/L/D)

 

 

Days 10 + 11: Pantanal - Jaguar Eco Lodge

After breakfast, carry on: this time to the Jaguar Eco Lodge. This is located along Transpantaneira (at 110km). The rooms were renovated in 2008. All the rooms have ventilation systems and climate systems; there are also bathrooms, and fly meshes at the windows. This lodge may lie in an undisturbed natural environment, but many will be quick to call it very convenient.

Between the months of June and November, the lodge is an ideal starting point for day excursions to Porto Jofre (the end point of Transpantaneira); it is a great place for tracking down jaguars and also many other kinds of animals. During these months we can practically guarantee that you will get to see a jaguar in its natural environment. In the vicinity of the lodge, there is a population of hyacinth macaws in a nearby lying tunnel forest - maybe you will be lucky enough to get a glimpse of them. There is planned during your stay a day excursion to Porto Jofre, the final point of Transpantaneira, with a concluding boat tour which offers you the chance to track down jaguars. (2xB/L/D)

 

 

Day 12: Pantanal - Pousada Rio Claro

You will eventually depart from the Jaguar Eco Lodge and proceed with further excursion along Transpantaneira to Pousada Rio Claro. This lodge is established in a varied landscape environment. There is a tunnel forest very close by in the area - a place where you can encounter many different kinds of birds. There is also a big lake, bound to attract anglers.

This fazenda has not changed the environment of Pantanal. No plant life has been felled or cleared away for the purposes of pastoral farming. Pousada Rio Claro is accepted as something of a “secret tip” among nature photographers, ornithologists, biologists and nature lovers. There are many kingfishers and similar birds here; different kinds of heron also reside here. You may be lucky enough to get the chance to observe the imposing giant otters. When the sun has gone down, these animals cover great distances as they patrol their territories. It is only later that they will go to rest on tree trunks, allowing people to observe and photograph them. The chances of seeing them are considerably greater in the late afternoon: when they hang around the areas of their caves.

The rooms of the lodge are clean, with an emphasis on convenience. They provide WC, bath and shower facilities, and climate control and ventilation systems; and the guest house has 20 rooms, a swimming pool and a separate restaurant with a bar. (B/L/D)

 

Day 13: Further excursion to Foz do Iguazu in the three-country corner (Argentina / Brazil / Paraguay)

After breakfast in Pousada Rio Claro comes a journey to the airport in Cuiabá. You will go by inland flight to the next natural paradise in Brazil: -.+ Foz do Iguazu. This is followed by a transfer from the airport to the Recanto Park Hotel, or to a similar hotel. There is nothing scheduled for the rest of the day. (F/-/-)

The Iguaçu waterfall - or "Big Water" in the Guarani language - is one of the natural wonders of Brazil. There are 275 waterfalls in total over a 3km range, and they are 80m high. They are broader than the Victoria Falls, higher the Niagara Falls and more beautiful than both of them put together.

Neither words nor photos will do it for you - you just have to have seen and heard it first hand!

Before they were covered by white man, these waterfalls were for thousands of years regarded as a kind of sacred grave site used by the Tupi-Guarani and Paraguas tribes. The area encompasses one of the best kept jungles in the land – rich in bramble areas, apple trees, cedars and monkey-puzzle trees. In the Iguaçu National Park there are also interesting birds: sparrowhawks, woodpeckers, owls, "macucos" and herons; as well as rare mammals, such as "Quatis", apes, tapirs, otters and "ariranhas".

Day 14: A must in every trip to Brazil - see the gigantic waterfalls of Foz do Iguaçu

Today's destination is the National Park and waterfalls of Foz do Iguaçu. These falls are among the eight most attractive waterfalls in the world. The amount of water involved is enormous and the vapour produced by these falls extends through the whole area. This is why the surrounding woods are always moist and lush. From the falls, a further 1000m of ascent brings us to Ganta do Diablo: the wrath of the Devil, so to speak. The day is concluded with a visit to the Foz do Iguaçu bird park: you can see more than 150 kinds. There are giant avaries in which you can experience and observe macaws, parrots, toucans etc. close-up. (B/-)

Day 15: Visiting the Argentinian side of the Foz do Iguaçu waterfalls

Today we make a digressive trip to Argentina. The Argentinian side of the Foz do Iguaçu waterfalls allows one to observe these falls and the surrounding woods close-up. The views offered by the abysses are hypnotising; all the better for creating an influential experience. Thundering waterfalls, giant rainbows and soaking dew, all to the sounds of parrots and falcons in the distance, in the deep green jungle. You have the option of booking an unforgettable boat tour direct to the falls. Then it's back to the hotel, and spending the night in a double room. (B/-)

Day 16: Departure - either the flight back home or the extension program

Transfer to the airport and flight back home / optional extension period (depending on the time the plane is due to leave). (B/-)

Day 17: Arrival at home

 

 

Activities:

 

Amazon:

• Flight transfer Manaus in / out
• 1 night in a double room in Rio Negro guest house, Manaus
• 5 days / 4 nights in a jungle lodge incl. daily outings and excursions as outlined in the program, overnight stay in a double room
• Meal times: (B) = Breakfast, (L) = Lunch, (D) = Dinner
• The local tour guides speak English

 

Chapada dos Guimarães and Pantanal:

• Airport transfer Cuiabá in / out
• 2 nights in Hotel Turismo, Chapada
• 1 night in Piuval Guest House, Pantanal
• 2 nights in the Jaguar Eco Lodge, Pantanal
• 1 night in the Rio Claro Guest House, Pantanal
• Departures and excursions as outlined in the program
• Meal times as indicated
• Local tour guides speak English

 

Foz do Iguaçu:

• Flight transfer Foz do Iguaçu in / out
• 3 nights in Recanto Park Hotel or a similar hotel
• Departures as indicated
• National Park visit costs paid
• Entry into the bird park
• Local tour guides speak English

 

Not included in the costs:

• Flights to and from Brazil
• Inland flights (Manaus - Cuiabá, Cuiabá - Foz do Iguaçu)
• Meal times and drinks not indicated above
• Single room additional cost: 465.00 Euros (2009 tours) Single room additional cost: 470.00 Euros (2010 tours)

 

Number of participants: 4-12

NEW PRICE! Now this offer can be applied to 2-3 people, at an extra cost of 120.00 Euros per person (2009 tours) or 200.00 Euros per person (2010 tours). It is possible to establish individual dates for two people.

 

TIP: Extension / supporting program (Rio de Janeiro)

We would also like to offer you an interesting supporting program or extension offer in relation to a possible stay in the city located off Sugar Loaf Mountain. Please communicate to us your wishes thereof.

 

TIP: Extension program of five days of whale watching and relaxing in Santa Catarina!

Finish off your round tour in style: at Praia Rosa in Santa Catarina. Our 5-day extension offer includes diverse whale watching tours plus accommodation in the paradisical eco-resort of Vida Sol e Mar! (Shorter stays are also possible.)

 

Brazil nature paradise, Brazil holidays, Brazil trips, Brazil tours, Amazon, Pantanal, Foz do Iguazu, Watching animals in Pantanal, Amazon myth, Jungle experiences, Jungle lodges, The biggest and most beautiful waterfalls in the world, natural paradises in Brazil