Rio, Iguazu & Pantanal group tour, Brazil
Includes: • Tour leader • Internal flights • Transfers in Latin America on tour dates • Transport and accommodation • Meals and excursions as per tour profile
Description of Rio, Iguazu & Pantanal group tour, Brazil
Brazil is the most biodiverse country in the world, with the Amazon rainforest, wildlife-rich wetlands, tropical coastline and epic waterfalls. It is also one of the largest countries in the world, so it can be challenging to cover much terrain on a short vacation. This 12-day Rio to Iguazu Falls vacation makes use of internal flights, private transport and a particularly well planned itinerary to ensure you see as much as possible, without feeling rushed.
Get underway in sunny, cosmopolitan Rio de Janeiro, where a highlight will be the rack-and-pinion railway up through Tijuca National Park, the largest urban forest in the world, to the summit of Corcovado Mountain where the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue awaits. From Rio you fly to another Brazilian icon, the spectacular Iguazu Falls where you’ll spend two days exploring the forested region around the waterfalls.
With a brief pause in the capital, Brasilia, with its futuristic and innovative architecture, you’ll fly on to Campo Grande, gateway to the Pantanal wetlands. In this vast wilderness of rivers, marsh, savannah and cattle ranches, much of it flooded during the rainy season, you’ll stay in a traditional pousada (lodge). From there, expert local guides lead you out to track wildlife including giant anteaters, caimans, capybaras and, perhaps, even jaguars. You’ll head out on foot, by boat and by 4WD, with the option to ride on horseback, too
This small group tour has a maximum of 16 people, minimising your impact on the fragile environments and remote communities you will visit. You’ll travel the entire way with a brilliant tour leader, and, as is fitting given Brazil’s renowned biodiversity, you will stay in accommodation with strong environmental credentials. That includes a family-run lodge in the Pantanal that is involved with efforts to conserve the endemic blue macaw.
Price information
Includes: • Tour leader • Internal flights • Transfers in Latin America on tour dates • Transport and accommodation • Meals and excursions as per tour profile
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Responsible Travel
Planet
In 1998 the Pantanal Nature Park was created to protect the region and ensure all development is sustainable. Whilst in the Pantanal we chose to stay at the Pousada Aguapé because of its sensitive approach to tourism. The lodge is a farm that has been run by the same family for some 150 years and since 1989 it has diversified its activities, continuing with cattle but starting to work in eco-tourism.The Pousada Aguapé has also been working with the Blue Macaw project since 2000. The project’s aim is to preserve the environment to ensure the survival of Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus in its natural habitat. On top of work with wildlife, Aguapé is also involved with the local authority of Aquidauana to improve local schooling and increase classroom attendance.
One of the major attractions of the tour is the visit to the Iguazú Falls. The falls lie in both Brazil and Argentina. UNESCO, in association with the WWF, works to coordinate both the Brazilian and Argentine sides of the National Park, and make sure that all the money raised from the thousands of visitors each year in entrance fees is properly distributed to the protection and development of the area.
People
On this tour we work with small privately owned ground agents who live in the area, have established RT policies in place, and employ local guides and staff. A number of journeys on this tour use public transport, the hotels are small, individual properties often run by the owners and their families, we eat in local restaurants serving locally grown produce – our style of travel ensures that as many local people as possible benefit by our being there. This tour runs with a maximum of 16 people which helps to minimise the impact on delicate environments.Popular similar vacations
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