Brazil 10 day tour, Pantanal & Amazon

Planet

If you’re looking to discover the wonders of the Pantanal and the Amazon responsibly then this tour is perfect for you. All of the excellent lodges that you will be staying in have fantastic eco-friendly credentials and two of them are actually fully dedicated and designated eco-lodges. The “green” credential of the self-sustainable Araras Eco Lodge are plentiful and their goal is to “educate to conserve” by introducing guests to all of the Pantanal’s delights and their own conservancy concepts that are in place to protect it. They have also adopted the SAFE ADVENTURE concept of the Brazilian Association of Ecotourism and Adventure Tourism meaning they are committed to utilising their natural resources in a sustainable manner, complying with established good practices and providing activities in a manner that is both safe and conscientious to the surrounding environment and wildlife. Their ethical and socio-environmental commitments are taken very seriously, and this is why the lodge has been chosen for this particular itinerary.

The only Brazilian ecolodge on the National Geographic’s Best Ecolodges list which was compiled to find the world’s most sustainable ecolodges, the Cristalino Lodge has a fully established and well-renowned commitment to providing responsible ecotourism opportunities to its guests. Other awards include a prestigious Global Vision Award in the Conservation Category awarded by Travel + Leisure magazine which recognises the outstanding efforts of individuals and organizations that are working to preserve the world’s natural and man-made treasures, and a Condé Nast World Savers Award which recognises companies who are world leaders in terms of social responsibility in cultural and/or environmental preservation, poverty reduction, education, wildlife conservation and health. The lodge was also selected as one of the 18 best ecolodges in the world by the Ancient World Forest Foundation, an organization that is committed to the conservation of forests and ecosystems, as well as the best practices for responsible tourism. These awards were gained through stringent hard work from the lodge owners to implement and continuously update their “Minimal Impact Tourism” policy which is one of the most in-depth and well thought out policies of any ecolodge we have seen. Minimal impact policies include, but are by no means restricted to, clean and renewable solar energy, 24 hours a day, in all rooms using photovoltaic panels and solar panels throughout, the use of biodegradable products, the treatment of both black and grey effluent using the most advanced environmentally friendly systems, stringent recycling and separation of inorganic waste, rational bed and linen changing processes and the use of organic fruit and vegetables wherever possible. The lodge has been designed using intelligent architectural construction to allow for natural ventilation and to cause as little impact on the surrounding environment as possible, and all staff have been fully trained in the responsible use of resources and appropriate supervision of visitors on the trails surrounding the lodge. Your guides throughout your tour will be fully knowledgeable on wildlife behaviours and will pass this knowledge on to you and ensure that there is appropriate behaviour around the wildlife at all times. You will also be provided electronically with pre-departure information on how to act around wildlife and strict guidelines that are in place for safe distances so that guests do not encroach upon wildlife habitats. Feeding the wildlife is banned so as to not affect their ability to obtain food and also to avoid making them dependent on humans.

As passionate wildlife enthusiasts we place a great deal of emphasis on helping to conserve and protect the wildlife of the regions we visit, and information will be provided on conservation efforts that are in place across Brazil that we support and promote to our customers. As a company we support numerous wildlife charities and conservation projects across the world, in both a financial and promotional capacity. These include Africat, the Dian Fossey Foundation, Wildlife SOS, Wader Quest, Save the Albatross and much more. We will provide information to our guests on these and other fantastic conservation organisations so that they can give back to the wildlife that will no doubt have provided them with enchanting memories throughout their tour.

Likewise, the lodges and operators used on the tour take their commitments to wildlife and environment conservation very seriously. Since its conception, conservation of local biodiversity has been the Cristalino Lodge’s main source of inspiration and motivation and protecting the rich Cristalino area is an integral part of the hotel’s work. In a sign of their commitment to this the lodge are co-founders of the Cristalino Foundation which performs various activities to conserve and monitor the surrounding forest reserves. The lodge directly preserves 28,167 acres of Primary Forest. By visiting the lodge you will be directly contributing towards the conservation of biodiversity in this precious Amazon region. More information on this excellent foundation is available on request.

Owing to the sheer size of Brazil, two short internal flights will be required for this tour in order to show you two of the country’s most important eco-systems. Opportunities to fly around the world in pursuit of amazing wildlife and birds makes a few traditional and purist naturalists uneasy because of aircraft pollution and conservation issues, but as conservationists ourselves we defend the conflict between ecotourism and carbon emissions. We believe that the biodiversity crisis is every bit as bad as the carbon environmental crisis and that we can’t possibly promote wildlife conservation efforts if we don’t open the world up to tourists witnessing these remarkable animals up close in their own natural habitat. We find that our clients generally come back from wildlife expeditions with a higher degree of environmental awareness which naturally results in a better understanding and usually a more effective call to action with their own general environmental habits at home and away, often becoming advocates and becoming much more supportive of wildlife and environmental issues. Staying in eco-lodges throughout perhaps helps to balance this out and we recommend offsetting your carbon footprint. Tools can be provided for calculating your footprint. The main way that we can help to bring awareness to somewhere is to show it to people. To show people its natural beauty, how precious it is and how important it is to help to preserve it.

In addition, all flights will be on scheduled routes. And as part of the challenge to combat the carbon footprint of the trip, the majority of activities carried out on the tour will be non-motorised activities such as canoeing, trekking, walking and non-invasive boat trips, all accompanied by naturalists who love and know their regions like nobody else.

We only work with operators who have extensive and impressive responsible travel policies in place. The entire ethos of the operators of this tour, who are part of the International Ecotourism Society, is to provide sustainable ecotourism to Brazil, meaning you can rest assured that every itinerary has been designed to meet exacting ecotourism standards.

People

As organisers of this tour we have ensured that all suppliers or agents that we use to provide the elements of your tour are passionate about protecting the communities, wildlife and landscapes of this remarkable country. The providers that we use are committed to creating and upholding transparent and honest relationships with local communities and suppliers. We use small, local management companies, so that not only do they hold intimate knowledge of the regions and how to protect them, but also so that as much of the revenue created as possible is filtered straight through to the local communities.

The operators of the tour also ensure that all lodges and accommodations used have proven track records of treating staff well and paying fairly, and have processes in place for giving back to the local communities. The Cristalino Lodge in particular have fantastic initiatives in place for educating the local communities and making them feel part of the special ecotourism that comes to the area. They are involved in planning sustainable businesses for local producers, carrying out socio-economic studies to help families living in the vicinity of the conservation areas and help to provide vital environmental education to the region’s schools through their support of The School of the Amazon education program. The program offers free workshops to local children to help them understand the value of their surrounding environment and to bring a sense of autonomy over their responsibilities to this environment.

As a company we place a huge importance on helping the local communities of the areas we visit. As such, we actively encourage all of our customers traveling to certain African, Asian and South American areas to participate in the Pack for a Purpose scheme, which the Cristalino Lodge is also heavily involved in. The idea behind Pack for a Purpose is simple; just leave a small amount of space in your luggage for taking much-needed supplies to some of the communities you will visit. This could be anything from school stationery to baby clothes and bed linens. Just tell us your destination and we can provide a list of all required items. For this particular itinerary, the Pack for a Purpose scheme works with the Cristalino Lodge to provide necessary equipment for the aforementioned School of the Amazon project. Items required and graciously accepted include books, clothes and learning tools. A full list of items can be provided by us, please mention this upon inquiry if you wish to participate. Please note, in line with the responsible travel guidelines, guests will not be volunteering with the children or in the school.

Solely using local agencies and providers means we have up to date local information and can therefore provide the most relevant information in our pre-departure literature. This includes information on on-going initiatives and community efforts that we actively encourage our customers to become involved in. We offer first-hand advice on creating meaningful and respectful relationships between tourists and residents and suggest local areas and communities to visit gaining cultural insights along the way, along with advice on where to buy souvenirs (to ensure the proceeds are going directly to the vendors), where to eat & where to drink.

As a company we are proud of our principle based values which our community can always depend on. We support several home and overseas charities, organisations and campaigns and sponsor individual and underprivileged children in many countries. We are committed to ethically working with overseas partners who employ and support local communities and local guides who know and love their region like no other, delighted to share knowledge and are dedicated to looking after our valued passengers.