Brazil’s Pantanal is a vast bioregion, bigger than many countries and states.    In fact it holds the world’s largest tropical wetlands and the world’s largest flooded grasslands (savannah).  As you can imagine, UNESCO and RAMSAR and World Heritage designations abound and the world’s conservation community is involved here.  The majority of the Pantanal sits in western central Brazil and that is where our travels focus.

In the north, there are extensive wetlands and river systems.  It is here, and only here, that jaguars hunt caiman and capybara during daylight hours along and in waterways.  And those jaguars have, over time, become accustomed to boats with photographers and nature enthusiasts.  Giant river otters abound, and have also become tolerant of photographers in boats.  This region is rich in birds that fish by wading or diving – including the largest flying bird of the Americas, the jabiru stork. 

In the south, there are expanses of savannah, broken by sinkholes and caves, and trees lining waterways.  This region is noted for its diversity and abundance of birds.  Here it is also possible to photograph anteaters, tamanduas, armadillos, and more!

For 2024, we are dividing our Pantanal explorations into two photography adventures. 

In the north, our photography will be boat-based.  We’ll lodge at a floating hotel and we’ll venture out in specially designed boats that give each photographer his/her own row to maximize photographic angles.  We’ll seek jaguars, caimans, capybara, giant otters, and a host of birds.

In the south, we’ll be based in lodges and explore in safari vehicles and by walking.  We’ll visit giant sinkholes that host breeding colonies of macaws.  The lodges have extensive feeder systems that have built a “following” of amazing birds.  You’ll be able to predictably photograph several species of macaws and many other colorful and exciting birds right outside your room!

These two adventures are separately priced, but we’ve built the logistics so that one can easily do both back-to-back.  If you choose to do both, we’ll reduce your cost by $500 (assuming both groups meet minimum signups).  If our numbers are strong in both, we’ll reduce your costs further.