2027 itinerary

Our tour will start in Cuiaba as we depart towards the 80,000 acre Chapada dos Guimarães National Park where we will spend our first 2 nights of the tour. This Cerrado habitat (seasonally dry woodland and scrub) will provide us with many different bird species and stunning scenery and is a real contrast to the Pantanal wetlands.

After our time in the Chapada dos Guimaraes National Park we will set off towards Pocone, the gateway to the Transpantaneira road and the worlds largest freshwater wetland, covering approximately 195.000 km². During our time in the Pantanal, we shall travel the entire length of the famous Transpantaneira road (145km of dirt road with many bridges along the way), well known for its amazing birds and wildlife. Once at the end of the Transpantaneira road we will spend 3 nights based at the Hotel Porto Jofre where we will take daily boat trips looking for various species of birds and our main mammal target, South Americas largest cat, the Jaguar!

6^th July

The tour will start at Cuiaba International Airport where you will meet your local guide before setting off for a 1.5 hour drive to the Chapada dos Guimarães National Park. Upon arrival we will have time to look for Blue-winged Macaw and Red and Green Macaw that both nest and roost in the impressive sandstone cliffs, Curl-crested Jay, Gray Monjita, Crested Black-Tyrant and Swallow Flycatcher amongst others.

7^th July

Today we will spend a full day birding within the National Park. After breakfast we will head off into the Cerrado habitat looking for targets such as Rufous-sided Pygmy-Tyrant, Small-billed Tinamou, White-eared Puffbird, Collared Crescentchest, Horned Sungem, Yellow-billed Blue Finch, Rufous-winged Antshrike, Black-faced Tanager, Red-legged Seriema, White-rumped Tanager, White-banded Tanager, Coal-crested Finch, Plumbeous Seedeater and Black-throated Saltator.

We will have lunch at a local restaurant and take a small break before heading out again where we will be birding at the amazing Bridal’s Veil Waterfall area which is a roost site for both the Blue-winged and Red and Green Macaw, also chances of Yellow-ridged Toucan, Chestnut-eared Aracari and White-collared and Biscutate swifts. We will return to our hotel late afternoon, followed by dinner.

8^th July

After breakfast we will set off for a drive of approximately 3 hours to our first destination of Pocone, the gateway to the Transpantaneira road and the Pantanal. The Transpantaneira road covers a distance of 145km with various lodges dotted along the way. Birding along this road is amazing, there is non-stop activity with the roadside pools full of various species including Anhinga, Large-billed Tern, Yellow-billed Tern, Cocoi Heron, Rufescent Tiger Heron, Striated Heron, Jabiru, Wood Stork, Bare-faced Ibis, Green Ibis, Sunbittern, Limpkin, Roseate Spoonbill and Black-crowned Night-heron amongst others. Perched up along the roadside we can see both Black-collared Hawk, Great Black Hawk, Snail Kite and Savanna Hawk together with Ringed Kingfisher, Amazon Kingfisher and Green Kingfisher. We will bird our way to our first hotel just 10km down the Transpantaneira road and after checking in, the rest of the day will be spent birding the local area.

9^th July

We will set off for a pre-dawn walk to try and find ourselves a Giant Anteater, this is the best time of day to look for this fascinating mammal. We will then return to the lodge for breakfast and spend a full day birding around the lodge and the surrounding fragmented forest. We will return to the comfort of the lodge for lunch and take a short break during the hottest part of the day before heading back out mid-afternoon. Returning to the lodge early evening we will meet up for dinner and if conditions are good, head out for a night drive.

10^th July

After some early morning birding we will continue our journey all the way down to the end of the Transpantaneira road, where we will be spending the next 3 nights. We will have several stops along the way looking for birds such as White Woodpecker, Green-barred Woodpecker, Crested Oropendola, Blue-fronted Parrot, Buff-necked Ibis, Plumbeous Ibis, Scarlet-headed Blackbird, Rusty-collared Seedeater, Black-capped Donacobius, Golden-collared Macaw, Lineated Woodpecker, Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Maguari Stork, Laughing Falcon, Whistling Heron, White-faced Whistling Duck, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Muscovy Duck, Bare-faced Curassow, Blue-throated Piping-Guan, Bay-winged Cowbird, Giant Cowbird, Cocoi Heron, Sungrebe and Sunbittern together will all five species of South American kingfishers, Ringed, Amazon, Green, Green and Rufous and the Pygmy.

11^th and 12^th July

We will spend two full days exploring the Pantanal by boat. After our breakfasts we will take boat rides both up and down river searching for Jaguar and other mammals such as Giant River Otters, Capybaras and the rare Tapir. We will return to the comfort of the lodge for lunch on both days before setting off for full afternoons on the boats again. Some of the target birds for this area include Black Skimmer, Yellow-billed Tern, Large-billed Tern, Pied Plover, Collared Plover, Crested Oropendola, Yellow-rumped Cacique, Black-collared Hawk, White-wedged Piculet, Black-fronted Nunbird, Bare-faced Curassow and Rusty-backed Spinetail. At the end of the day, we hope to see Band-tailed Nighthawks flying above the water.

13^th July

After breakfast we will retrace our steps along the Transpantaneira road to our final lodge of the tour where we will spend our last 2 nights. There will be several stops en-route for birding and some targets around the new lodge will include Hyacinth Macaw, Jabiru, Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork, Great Rufous Woodcreeper, Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, Undulated Tinamou, Glittering-throated Emerald, Black-fronted Nunbird, Bat Falcon, Black-bellied Antwren, Planalto Slaty Antshrike, Saffron-billed Sparrow and Blue-crowned Trogon.

 14^th July

After an early breakfast, we will take a boat ride along the Pixaim River. This can be good for seeing Giant River Otters together with Sungrebe, Black-collared Hawk, Great Black Hawk and Boat-billed Heron. This boat trip also provides excellent opportunities to try for flight photographs of several species. We will return to the lodge in time for lunch.

The afternoon will be spent birding the local area, target birds for today include Band-tailed Antbird, Pale-legged Hornero, Rusty-backed Spinetail, Lesser Kiskadee, Southern Beardless Tyrannulet, Green-backed Becard, Golden-green Woodpecker, Plain Antvireo, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Ashy-headed Greenlet, Helmeted Manakin, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, White-lored Spinetail, Cinereous-breasted Spinetail, Red-billed Scythebill, Flavescent Warbler, Moustached Wren, Buff-bellied Wren, Purplish Jay, Orange-backed Oriole (Troupial), Crested Oropendola, Solitary Black-Cacique, Blue-crowned Trogon, Black-fronted Nunbird, Silver-beaked Tanager, Rusty-collared Seedeater, White-bellied Seedeater and Chestnut-bellied Seed-Finch.

15^th July

If time allows there will be some early morning birding around the lodge, this will be followed by breakfast and our departure back to Cuiaba for our flights home.

What to expect:

Both Chapada dos Guimarães National Park and the Pantanal will be hot, we expect to experience temperatures between 20 – 35 degrees centigrade with cooler evenings.

No rain is expected but cannot be ruled out.

The tour pace is easy with short walks, usually close to our vehicle and boat rides. On our two full days with boats, we will return to the comfort of the lodge for lunch during the hottest part of the day.

The accommodation is of a good standard with good food, usually served buffet style.

There are excellent photographic opportunities on this tour.

• LEADER: Expert local bilingual birding guide
• GROUND PRICE: Please enquire
• GROUP SIZE: Maximum group size of 8
• DEPOSIT REQUIRED to secure your place on the tour: 30% of the tour price
• TOUR STARTS at Cuiaba Airport (CGB) on 6th July 2027 at 10.00
• TOUR ENDS at Cuiaba Airport (CGB) on the 15th July 2027 at 14.00

Included in our tour price:

• All birding excursions as outlined in the itinerary
• Expert local bilingual birding guide
• All ground transportation from Cuiaba airport on the 6th July back to Cuiaba airport on the 15th July 2027
• Full board accommodation on a twin/double share basis in en-suite rooms
• All meals from lunch on the 6th July through to lunch on 15th July
• Mineral water on board the transport
• Two days boat ride on the 11th and 12th July
• One boat ride on the 13th or 14th July
• Open truck ride on 8th or 9th July

Not included in our tour price:

• International or domestic flights
• Airport taxes where applicable
• Beverages
• All other meals other than what’s specified above
• Personal travel and medical insurance
• Tips of any kind
• Items of a purely personal nature