BRAZIL FOR WILDLIFE? WHAT A PANTANAL SAFARI IS REALLY LIKE.
If you’ve been on safari in Africa, don’t go to Brazil expecting the same experience.
On the African savannah, wildlife can sometimes seem to be everywhere. Herds of zebra and antelope, giraffe on the horizon, elephants wandering past and, if you’re lucky, a lion or leopard putting in an appearance.
Brazil is different.
But that certainly doesn’t mean there isn’t some extraordinary wildlife to see.
I’ve just returned from four nights on a Pantanal safari – a vast area of wetlands, rivers and open grasslands and one of the best places in the world to see jaguars in the wild.
And see them I did.
So what is a Pantanal safari actually like?
For much of my stay, wildlife watching meant taking to the water.
We’d head out by boat along the rivers, scanning the banks and surrounding vegetation for whatever might appear. There were giant river otters, capybaras, caiman, monkeys and an extraordinary variety of birdlife.
But, inevitably, it was the jaguars we’d all come hoping to see.
I was lucky enough to have three different jaguar sightings during my stay. And however much you know they’re out there somewhere, nothing quite prepares you for the moment one actually appears on a riverbank in front of you.
And that’s part of the appeal.
Although after several hours of staring intently at apparently empty riverbanks, you do begin to suspect that the jaguars know perfectly well you're there and are doing it deliberately.
Is it as good as an African safari?
I’m not sure that’s really the right comparison.
If your idea of a safari is enormous numbers of animals out in the open, Africa wins. The Pantanal doesn’t have that same sheer concentration of visible wildlife.
What it does have is a completely different environment and wildlife you simply aren’t going to encounter on an African safari.
There’s also something rather lovely about doing so much of your wildlife watching from the water. Travelling quietly along the rivers gives the whole experience a different pace.
So I wouldn’t suggest the Pantanal instead of Africa. I’d suggest it because you want to experience something different.
And, of course, jaguars. Did I mention the jaguars?
Pantanal or Amazon?
Interestingly, quite a few of the people I met were combining the Pantanal with the Amazon.
And although both immediately conjure up images of Brazilian wildlife, they offer very different experiences.
The Pantanal’s more open landscape makes wildlife much easier to spot. The Amazon is dense rainforest, so you may well hear far more than you actually see – but being surrounded by that extraordinary ecosystem is part of the experience.
Put the two together and you get two completely different sides of wild Brazil.
For a serious wildlife enthusiast, that can make for a pretty extraordinary trip.
Is the Pantanal easy to get to?
No.
There. That's the short answer.
This isn’t somewhere I’d suggest adding casually because you happen to be going to Brazil. It takes some getting to and you need to allow enough time there to make the journey worthwhile.
For me, four nights worked well.
And I think that’s important when planning a trip like this. South America is enormous and it’s very easy to look at a map, pick half a dozen places you’d love to see and end up spending far too much of your holiday travelling between them.
The Pantanal is somewhere you go because seeing its wildlife genuinely matters to you. If it does, the journey is worth it.
And what could you combine it with?
This is where Brazil gets particularly interesting.
Add the Amazon and you have two completely different wildlife experiences.
Add Rio and you suddenly have one of the world’s great cities in the mix.
And then there’s Iguazú.
I’ve now visited the falls several times over the years and they still have the ability to stop me in my tracks. In my completely unbiased opinion, they are the most spectacular waterfalls on the planet. I will accept no correspondence on the matter.
Put some or all of those together and you have a holiday with an enormous amount of variety – wildlife, rainforest, cities and some truly extraordinary landscapes.
That, for me, is one of the great appeals of travelling in South America. You don’t necessarily have to choose between wildlife, culture, scenery and cities. With the right itinerary, you can have a bit of everything.
Thinking about South America?
If South America is somewhere you’re beginning to think about for your next big trip, I’ve put together a guide called From One Day to Day One.
It’s designed to help you start working out what you want from the trip, where you might go and some of the practical things worth thinking about before you start putting an itinerary together.
If you’d like a copy, just get in touch and I’ll happily send it to you.
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