The Natural Brazil

Rio de Janeiro

Most flights from Europe arrive in Rio de Janeiro in the morning. Your English-speaking guide/driver will meet you at the airport and drive your chosen hotel in the south zone of the city where you will stay for the next 2 nights. The rest of the day is free to relax and acclimatise. Perhaps do as 'cariocas' (natives of Rio) do and grab a fresh fruit juice whilst strolling the beachside promenade from Copacabana to Leblon

Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf

Today you will be taken on a full day guided excursion (shared with others) to see two of Rio's iconic landmarks. Take a train up Corcovado hill to see the statue of Christ the Redeemer. The view from the top of the hill showcases Rio's greatest landmarks: Sugar Loaf, the Guanabara bay, the beaches of the southern zone of the city and the Rodrigo Freitas lagoon. You will then be taken to the neighbourhood of Urca to ride the cable car up to Sugar Loaf mountain for further fantastic picture-postcard views of Rio. Lunch is included.

Iguassu Falls

This morning you are transferred to Rio de Janeiro airport to catch your flight to Iguassu. You are met on arrival at Iguassu airport and transferred to a mid-range hotel in Iguassu, where you stay for the next 3 nights, set within well-maintained grounds a short distance from the entrance of the Iguassu National Park. The rest of the day is free to relax at your hotel.

Brazilian side of the falls

This morning you are collected from your hotel and taken on a private tour of the Brazilian side of the Iguassu Falls. You begin at the modern visitors centre at the entrance to the National Park where there is a small museum with interactive exhibits, information and facts about the falls. You are then taken to the start of the 'Waterfall Trail', a 1,200m paved trail dotted with superb viewpoints looking onto different parts of the falls, culminating in a catwalk that leads you to the base of the almighty Devil's Throat cascade, a sheer mass of thundering water that is undoubtedly the most impressive part of the falls. This trip ends at the upper part of the Iguassu river which is accessed by a panoramic lift, which gives you a view of the falls from above. You will then be taken on the 'Macuco' safari boat trip, which starts with a 3km ride through the forest in a wagon pulled by an electrical vehicle (which sounds corny but is actually quite good). There is an English-speaking guide with you who will point out the surrounding flora and fauna and tell you something about them. After a 500m walk in the forest to the riverbank you board an inflatable speedboat specially designed to get as close as possible to the waterfalls. Prepare to get soaked! We have not included today's lunch so that you can choose from the several places to eat around the park.

Argentinian side of the falls

This morning you are collected from your hotel and taken over the border to Argentina for a different perspective of the falls. Board the small 'Tren Ecologico' or Rainforest Ecological Train which winds through the National Park dropping visitors off at the various walkways. Visit both the lower circuit catwalk, a 1.5km loop offering views of smaller but spectacular falls such as Ramirez and Bosetti and the upper circuit catwalk, a short trail in the forest above the first few waterfalls. Keep your eyes peeled for 'toco' toucans. You are then taken by train to Devils Throat station from where you walk 1,100m along a flat catwalk suspended over the Upper Iguazu river. The lookout point at the end of the catwalk offers stunning views over this side of the Devil's Throat falls, a very different view from the one you experienced yesterday. Next, a change of scale to visit Puerto Iguazu town and the garden of a local family which has been transformed into a delightful 'Jardin de los Picaflores' or hummingbird garden, full of flowers and suspended water feeders filled with sweetened water which attract a variety of different species of hummingbirds. It is a magical sight to see so many of these tiny birds up close and hear the fast-paced buzz of their wings as they hover at the feeders. You are then transferred back over the border to your hotel where the remainder of the day is free to relax. There may be time for an optional excursion at additional cost. You might visit Itaipu Dam, go on a canopy tour, go walking on a nature trail in the National Park, or visit the rather incorrect 'Parque das Aves' or Bird Park - a series of aviaries within the humid subtropical forest, which houses over 800 species of birds, as well as alligators, butterflies and anacondas.

The Amazon and Manaus

An early start this morning to catch your flight to Manaus, the cosmopolitan heart of the Amazon. You are met on arrival at Manaus airport and transferred to the Hotel Tropical Manaus, located on a river beach 16km from downtown Manaus where you stay for the night. Manaus is the financial and industrial capital of the Amazon and the chief port and hub for the region's extensive river system. In the mid-afternoon you are collected from your hotel for a tour of Manaus, visiting its famous Opera House, the Indian museum (with fine collection of ceramics, sacred masks and replicas of Indian dwellings), the rubber museum, which shows the great wealth of the city during the rubber boom and the local fish market where weird river fish are laid out for your inspection. Afterwards you are driven back to your hotel where the rest of the day is free.

to Amazon Clipper cruise (Wed)

Morning at leisure at your hotel. Mid-afternoon you will leave the Hotel Tropical landing-stage and board your Amazon Clipper "Premium" riverboat for the start of your 3 night cruise. Presentation on board of the staff, route and facilities. Navigation to the Pagodăo river (tributary of the Negro). Canoe trip shortly before sunset, returning after dark, with the possibility of observing nocturnal animals and perceive the change in the forest as night falls. Dinner. Navigation to Açu Creek or nearby tributaries.

Canoe trip at sunrise for bird watching. Breakfast. Walk in the forest with commentaries by the specialist. Observation of the flora. Visit to a "caboclo" family. Chance to see the local way of life, preparation of manioc flour (the staple foodstuff of the Amazon), the health and education situation of the children etc. Lunch. Fishing for piranhas. Navigation through the Anavilhanas, the world's largest fresh water archipelago, more then 1000 miles from the ocean. Navigation. Dinner. Night trip to see caimans and possibly frogs, sloth, snakes and other species, depending on the season.

Breakfast. Visit to the village of Novo Airăo, with its handicraft boat yards where the "AMAZON CLIPPER" was built, sawmills, market and other activities. Navigation to Praia Grande or other white sand beach. Swimming if conditions permit, and observation of the vegetation of sandy areas. Lunch. Canoe trip in Lake Acajatuba or adjacent lake domains to see typical flora (rubber trees, Brazil nuts, useful palm trees of various types). Dinner. Navigation.

Pantanal

Visit January Lake. Canoe trip at sunrise for bird watching. Breakfast. Navigation to the "Meeting of the Waters". Return to the Tropical Hotel landing-stage, with fine views of Manaus waterfront mid-morning You will then be transferred to Manaus airport to catch your onwards flight to Cuiaba You will be met on arrival at Cuiaba airport and be transferred to a downtown hotel where you stay for a positioning night before you travel on to the Pantanal the following day.

Early this morning you will be collected from your hotel and transferred (with others) south into the Pantanal along the Transpantanera Highway (2-3 hrs) to stay for 3 nights at Araras Lodge private reserve. The Pantanal is the world's largest seasonal wet land (an alluvial plain) where cowboys ranch cattle it is home to the endangered Hyacinth Macaw, to Caimen, Capypara, Jabiru, Howler Monkeys and huge numbers of water birds. Late afternoon boardwalks for sunset from the observation tower. The lodge is a rustic regional architecture 32km from Poconé. It has 14 rooms with ceiling fans, mosquito nets, private facilities with hot and cold water, a bar swimming pool, large corridors with hammocks and a nice tree-top lookout.

Full day dedicated to observing the Pantanal’s flora & fauna a.m. 2-3 hr horseback ride through thet pastures, woods and wetlands lunch a the lodge, p.m. hike with guide in a different area of the reserve allowing you to observe and learn more about the local environment.

After breakfast travel down private dirt roads, to Sentinela Camp on the edge of the Clarinho river. Canoe tour to spot aquatic wildlife, birds and flora; possibility of piranha fishing. Brazilian churrasco style picnic lunch along the banks of the river. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Depart Brazil

After breakfast you will be transferred with others to Cuiaba airport in time to catch a flight to Rio/Sao Paulo to connect with your onwards international flight home