The Amazon may attract more fame and glory, but the Pantanal wetlands is a far better place to see wildlife, with the greatest concentration of fauna in the New World. In the Amazon, the animals hide in the dense foliage, but in the Pantanal’s open spaces, wildlife is visible to the most casual observer. In the Pantanal about 242 species of fishes, 650 species of birds, 110 different mammals and 50 species of reptiles have already been identified.

Because of its features and importance, the Pantanal was recognized by UNESCO, in the year 2000, as the Biosphere Reserve, since it is one of the richest and most diversified natural reserves on Earth.

The Pantanal is one of the largest continuous wetlands on the globe.  It is located in the central part of South America, in the Upper Paraguay River basin. It extends over 210,000 square kilometers, encompassing the far western part of Brazil and some parts of Paraguay and Bolivia. In Brazil, it covers 138,183 square kilometers, and 65% of its territory is in the state of Souther Mato Grosso, and 35% in Northern Mato Grosso.

The Pantanal is a unique mosaic of landscapes spread throughout the immense floodplain. There is a mixture of typical species of the Amazon forest, Cerrado (savana), Chaco, and even Caatinga. The vegetation is diverse and each species adapts to the seasonal droughts and floods of the region. Depending on the soil and time of the year, the landscape significantly changes, and different formations can be seen.

Broadly, there are four distinct environments, including: 1) grasslands; 2) gallery forests; 3) formations dominated by one or two species, such as the carandazal (dominated by the carandá species – which is related to carnauba, found in northeastern Brazil but typically from Chaco), and paradutal (formations of “ipê amarelo”, which is called “paraduto” in the Pantanal); and 4) higher, densely wooded areas called capões and cordilheiras.

Every year, the flood cycle in Pantanal repeats itself. Normally, usually the rains start in November, becoming more intense from December to February. The waters reach their highest level between May and July, turning the large Pantanal plain into a sea of fresh water. The time and size of floods vary from one year to the other. The dry season usually is from August to November. Nowadays floods do not happen in the same months as 20 years ago, sometimes in February everything is dry when a long time ago it was flooded, all depends of the rains that will fall in the region.

Besides being comprised of a large mosaic of different types of vegetation, the Pantanal wetland can be considered a collection of different wetlands, as it has several sub regions and hydrographic basins. These are locally called Cáceres, Poconé, Barão de Melgaço, Paraguay, Paiaguás, Nhecolândia, Abobral, Aquidauana, Miranda, Nabileque, and Porto Murtinho. The sub-region of Càceres, Poconé and Barão de Melgaço are located in northern Pantanal.

The Pantanal region has a tropical climate that is hot and wet, with annual average temperatures of about 25°C. Summer is hot and wet, when high temperatures can reach 41°C, and winter is cold and dry, when temperatures can be as low as 0°C.

Due to the high environmental instability of the Pantanal ecosystem caused by the climate and flood cycles, agriculture becomes virtually impossible. As a result, extensive beef ranching turns out to be the chief economic activity in the Pantanal, and has been carried out for approximately 200 years on native pastures. Horse breeding has been introduced and the horses have adapted to the weather and environmental conditions. Known today as pantaneiro horses, they are sturdy and move easily in the water.

A long time ago, tourism had its start with fishing and soon sport fishing developed in Pantanal. Currently, ecotourism, or ecological tourism, has become significant and represents a new option of livelihood to the local populations, and also to cattle ranchers, who are adapting their ranches to host travelers.

The Northern Pantanal comprises around a third of the total Pantanal area in Brazil. Its notably rich in wildlife, with some areas harbouring what’s believed to be the world’s highest concentration of Jaguars. A drive along the Transpantaneira is also popularly regarded as one of the best wildlife viewing experiences in South America. Besides wildlife the region has an exuberant culture – with major festivals in Cuiabá, Poconé and Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade.

Our tour operator is specialist in Pantanal adventures tours and we have more than 22 years of experience in the region!
Alisson Buzinhani (our director) was raised in the Pantanal South, he knows very well all the regions of Southern and Northern Pantanal.

Eco Adventures Travel have all kinds Pantanal Tours departing from Cuiabá, we are sure one of our tours will be good for you!