Brazil

Starting Price:	$4,806.00
Trip Length:	5 days

Jaguar

Capybara

Caiman

Jaguar Research Center

Description Pricing Itinerary

The Pantanal is a combination of flooded savannahs and tropical forests that offer some of finest wildlife viewing opportunities in South America. It is located in the central western region of Brazil and is approximately the size of the UK. The Jaguar Research Center is located in the center of the Meeting-of-the-Waters State Park which is home to between 4,000 and 7,000 Jaguars. 99.5% of visitors have seen a jaguar, and they average 1.8 sightings per day.

There are ten, large African-style elevated tents made of thick canvas for the visitors to stay in. Each tent has hardwood floors, 2 queen beds, 2 stand-up, moveable fans, electricity for 5 h per day, an en suite bathroom with a dry ecotoilet and warm shower, and electrical sockets for charging cameras and computers. Both 110-volt and 220-volt electricity are available at the camp. Our dining room/lounge is an even larger, elevated tent with hardwood flooring and excellent fans. Both the dining room tent and the sleeping tents are nestled in the shade on the wooded banks of the 70-m-wide Three Brothers River. The Jaguar Research Center is the only lodging inside this enormous Jaguar preserve.

The Pantanal is a great location to add to one of our highlight trips which include: Rio de Janeiro, Salvador da Bahia or Iguazu Falls. Please inquire about these options with one of our Travel Consultants.

Day 1

Tuesday
Cuiabá - Pantanal Wildlife Center
Upon arrival, transfer to the Pantanal, driving for about 2 hours to reach the famous Transpantaneira Road. This is one of the best wildlife viewing areas in the world. As you travel along the Transpantaneira, a dirt road that traverses the Pantanal, you will have your first introduction to this incredibly rich area with abundant wildlife. You can admire the flora and fauna along the Transpantaneira, and we will also make several stops on the way take photographs. Arrival at Pantanal Wildlife Center late in the afternoon, check-in and enjoy a nice dinner. The Pantanal Wildlife Center was once called Fazenda Santa Tereza. The “Fazenda” was a traditional cattle ranch. Today, it is an eco-lodge on 3,500 hectares of flooded lands situated at the end of Rio Pixaim River. Here you are deep into the Pantanal where you can take boat safaris on the rivers, see monkeys, many bird species, capybaras, caymans, and giant otters. You can also explore the marked trails through the forest surrounding the Pantanal Wildlife Center. Canopy towers are strategically located at fruiting and flowering trees. Overnight at Pantanal Wildlife Center. Dinner included.

Day 2

Wednesday
Pantanal Wildlife Center - Jaguar Research Center
After breakfast we will travel south along the Transpantaneira to the Jaguar Research Center. The Tranpantaneira Highway provides some of the best opportunities to see a great variety of birds and wildlife. It is a photo safari in and of itself. We will continue to the very end of this famous road, at km 140, to Porto Jofre. Here we find the 250-m-wide (820-foot-wide) Cuiabá River, which is the border between the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. We will complete the journey to Jaguar Research Center by boating 1-1.5 hours upstream on the Cuiaba River and then to Three Brothers River. The 270,000-acre Meeting of the Waters State Park begins about a third of the way up the river to the Jaguar Research Center. The Jaguar Research Center is in the very heart of this remote, wild park, and is composed of five 12-by-14-foot, walk-in tents made of thick canvas. The roof of the tent reaches more than 8 feet high, allowing even the tallest guests to walk around most of the tent. Each tent also features electric light, an electrical socket for charging cameras and other equipment (both 110 volt and 220 volts available), and a bathroom. Lunch at the Jaguar Research Center. A small, well-equipped house boat is anchored at the Jaguar Research Center and acts as kitchen, dining room, lounge, and electric generator to power the tents, which lie 100 yards away from the riverbank, in open forest on the edge of a large, African-like savannah. There is also a 10-by-10-foot research lab for analyzing recent jaguar photos and jaguar tracks and for relaxing. Overnight at Jaguar Research Center. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Day 3

Thursday
Exploring the Meeting of the Water’s State Park
The Jaguar Research Center is a tented camp, as no buildings can be erected in the pristine core of the park. It is located on a key piece of riverbank terrain in the center of the park, and that is where we anchor the house boat. In addition to the jaguars, there are two groups of Giant Otters. One group is near the mouth of the Piquiri River and the other near the 330-acre island that lies seven minutes by boat upstream on the Three Brothers River. Overnight at Jaguar Research Center. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner included.

Day 4

Friday
Full Day Search for Jaguars by Boat
After an early breakfast, we leave the Jaguar Research Center for a full day boat trip to observe the diversity of the animals in the region. We will watch for jaguars, tapirs, anteaters, giant otters, birds and other animals common to this region. We’ll use small motor-boats to explore narrow and wild rivers in the core of this huge park. Recent guest have seen several of these huge predators, during the day, many of them at very close range for extended periods. Return to the Center at the end of the afternoon in time for dinner. Overnight at Jaguar Research Center. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner included.

Day 5

Saturday
Transfer to Cuiabá for flight
After breakfast 1 hour boat and 2 hours (non-stop) drive back to Pantanal Wildlife Center for lunch. After lunch drive 1.5 hours along the Transpantaneira back to the town of Poconé and then 1.15 hours on asphalt to Cuiabá (arrive Cuiabá airport about 15h45m). Breakfast and lunch included.

5 days , from $4806

Occupancy Type	Standard
Triple	$4806
Double	$4943
Single	$5513

Prices shown above are per person, in US Dollars ($).

Prices include: Land and boat transfers from Cuiaba Airport to the Pantanal Wildlife Center and Jaguar Research Center, guided tours in English-speaking guide, lodge accommodation including all meals and a welcome drink. Domestic airfare and airport taxes are not included. Outings include intensive Jaguar search involving up to 10 boat-hours per group with customized support from special scout boats.

Note: Program valid for the period between from June through October 2009. (Dry season)
The lodge will be closed from November through May.

Note: Transfers between Cuiaba airport and Jaguar Research Center normally take about 6-7 hours. Most of the trip is by road, but the last 30-45 minutes is by boat on the Cuiabá River. If you are going straight from Cuiabá to JRC, we recommend leaving no later than 9:00 am so that you can savor the transfer, which is a nature-rich adventure in itself.

Price does not include: extras such as beverages, insurance, laundry, tips, possible internet, or other personal expenses. Unlimited drinking water is available at both JRC from large water coolers. Juice is included at breakfast, and coffee and tea are included at all meals. All other beverages, including sealed, plastic bottles of drinking water, are extra. Bring your own Nalgene bottle to refill, thus eliminating plastic refuse and avoiding extra charges for bottled water.

Children under the age of 12 are not recommended at Jaguar Research Center.

Jaguar Sighting Probability:
With 397 Jaguars sightings by guests in 220 search days in the 2007 and 2008 dry seasons, we experienced a 92% chance per day of seeing a Jaguar and a daily average of 1.8 Jaguars. Sightings varied considerably according to heat, cold, and water levels on rivers. We cannot completely guarantee a Jaguar, but we have by far the best Jaguar record in the world, and we believe that the data and the tens of thousands of Jaguar photographs taken by guests speak for themselves. Fully 99.5% of our guests have seen Jaguars so far. The only ones that did not (a couple from Brazil) have been invited back by us for two free nights at any time, so that we can have an unblemished, 100% record.

Jaguar Search Policy:
The JRC Jaguar search policy is to have at least three radio-equipped boats out for most of the day between 7:00 am and 5:30 pm. This rule means that in practice, if there are two guest boats out on the rivers, then they constitute two out of our three-boat quota. One guest boat on the rivers represents one of the three-boat quota, so two scout boats (without guests) need to be out during that period. Note that if one of our boats, including possibly the house boat, is doing a run to Porto Jofre with guests or without for any reason, that boat also constitutes one of “the three boats”, as it is radio-equipped, is working within our Jaguar region, and often sees and reports Jaguars.

Weather Warning:
Ten percent of days during the May-September “dry-season” are cold, windy, and sometimes even rainy, with high and low temperatures of 9-12 degrees C (48 to 54 degrees F). For cold boat rides, bring rainwear and warm winter coats and hats. Ninety percent of the days are hot and sunny.

Note: Yellow fever is recommended (not mandatory) for travelers visiting Iguazu, Manaus and Minas Gerais (Belo Horizonte and Ouro Preto).

Note: U.S. and Canadian citizens require a Visa to enter Brazil which must be requested with plenty of notice.

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