Land of the Jaguar

Long journey to get to the Pantanal but worth it! Three jaguar sightings on the first trip made everyone very happy for the forthcoming adventure. Hotel Baiazinha is the perfect location for trips into the wetlands. Accommodation and food excellent and staff very friendly. Plus around the hotel so many birds. Seven boat trips was tiring in the heat, thankfully the boat has a cover. Finally saw nine jaguar sightings, some repeats, plus two giant otter encounter.......and so many birds. Araras Pantanal Eco Lodge is a nice wind down with good accommodation. Trips out to spot wildlife are good but toucans and hyacinth macaws can be spotted in the grounds early morning!

This trip exceeded all my expectations.Seeing a Jaguar in its natural habitat was wonderful. As usual Paul worked hard with the guides to get the results that we all longed for.The accommodation was good, though the food in Porte Joffre could have been much better. I was a little disappointed with the fact that we had to pay for our luggage on the internal flight. This caused some hassle because none of the flight desk attendants spoke English and I do not speak Portuguese. A similar scenario ensued on the return flight. This was one of the most memorable trips that I have done with Exodus and I look forward to my next one.

For those interested in wildlife and the possibility of seeing a Jaguar in the wild, this trip to the Pantanal of Brazil is an affordable winner. Logistics were well coordinated, accommodations were fine though it should be noted the Jaguar House Boat is not luxurious but more than adequate for its remote location on the Paraguay River. The three nights at the very nice Araras EcoLodge were a pleasant bonus. Our guide, Tony, could not have been better. He is experienced, knowledgable and very pleasant. With his skill we had three jaguar sightings during our time on the Paraguay River. Contrary to the Exodus trip description, the majority of the time is spent scouring the river banks of the main river and its narrow channels. It was quite a long distance by small speed boat to the Taima Ecological Reserve and that was reserved only for our last day. According to Tony there are jaguars in the Reserve but they are more difficult to see and eluded us. However, we had excellent caiman, giant river otter and bird sightings. The abundance of birds in the Pantanal was extraordinary and I personally saw over 90 different species. Tony knows them all! So, if you are "into" birds and jaguars, you will be well entertained. The majority of our group of 13 were interested in photography so that was enjoyable. One goes in the dry season to spot jaguars more easily but you will not see the Pantanal flooded as depicted in many photos. One needs to go in a different season for that experience; I am already dreaming of a return trip!

A wonderful trip to see these elusive jaguars by riverboat. The accommodation was comfortable and allowed a great base for jaguar boat trips or at Araras Eco Lodge a series of nature walks and night safaris in search of birds and ocelots. Juan the guide was excellent throughout, well organised, enthusiastic and with an encyclopedic knowledge of the wildlife on hand.

This was a terrific holiday, despite the weather being the coldest on record for that time of year.

Amazing array of wildlife. Providing you don't mind roughing it a bit and don't mind getting bitten (a lot!), this is a fabulous holiday. Must have been good as I came home with over 2500 photos!

Overall a relatively full on experience with very little 'down' time. An amazing abundance of wildlife especially birds. A trip that definitely lived up to expectations.

A fantastic experience, with far more wildlife sightings than I expected. We saw three jaguars (some of the group saw five), with great opportunities to both observe and photograph these beautiful animals. We saw dozens of species of birds, caiman, capybara, howler and capuchin monkeys, coati, armadillo, peccary, brocket, tamandua and the iconic giant otter and giant anteater. We were lucky enough to glimpse a very rare jaguamundi too. Excellent accommodation; although the houseboat was quite basic we were made to feel very welcome.

This trip is in two parts. Four days on the Jaguar houseboat looking for jaguars, the boat's a bit cramped and you spend all day on the river, but the sight of your first jaguar makes it all worthwhile. Then the fantastic Araras Eco Lodge, which is spacious and relaxing and the bird life is amazing! You need to be prepared for long days and you need lots of patience, but it's definitely a fantastic experience.

The trip provided the wildlife viewing we had hoped for - five jaguars, plus giant otters, armadillos, anteater etc etc and a wide variety of bird life.