What to see and where to stay in the Pantanal wetlands, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Within minutes of landing on a strip in Caiman, a private property in Brazil’s Pantanal, all my expectations had been exceeded.

Located mostly within the central Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, the Pantanal is the world’s largest tropical wetlands, extending into portions of Bolivia and Paraguay. The blue skies are dazzling, the humid temperature is languid and the lush bright green vegetation is lit up by tropical flowers and the stunning flame trees with their spectacular display of large clusters of bright red-orange flowers.

Reaching this paradise involved a flight to South America from London to São Paulo, another to Campo Grande, the capital city of Mato Grosso do Sul, and finally a short ride on a private plane. But as we crossed a narrow bridge to our luxury accommodation at Casa Caiman, over a tropical lake, every mile was worth it. 

Neon yellow butterflies and red-crested kingfishers scattered by and the lake was dressed with huge floating beautiful pale blue water hyacinths and lilies as cunning caiman crocodiles glided by in the glistening water. It was an assault on the senses. It is easy to see why this idyll is a mecca for natural history filmmakers and on Sir David Attenborough’s wish list. 

Caiman is a refuge that harbours 132 different mammals and 463 birds so it is a top hot spot to see Brazil’s “Big Five” mammals: Jaguar, Brazilian Tapir, Marsh Deer, Giant Anteater and Capybara. Although the aim of its safari guides is to help that happen, it can never be guaranteed which adds to the excitement.

The UK is the fourth largest European market for Brazil with 130,239 visitors visiting last year and while the Pantanal may not be as well known as Rio de Janeiro’s crowd-pleasing Carnival, Amazon Rainforest and Iguazu Falls, its vastness cannot be overestimated. Put the Pantanal over Europe, and it would be larger than at least nine countries, including England, Austria, Hungary, Greece, and Ireland.

Not only does it have the largest concentration of crocodiles in the world, with approximately 10 million caimans, but it is also the home of the majestic jaguar, the largest feline in the Americas, and the biggest parrot on the planet, the glorious Blue Hyacinth Macaw. One million tourists visit the Pantanal every year.

Blue Hyacinth Macaw c. Gabriela Astorga

Only five percent is protected and around 95 percent of the Pantanal is under private ownership, mostly used for cattle grazing. Caiman is owned by Roberto Klabin, who is fighting to conserve jaguars and other species of animals, and the fauna and flora of the region, through pioneering projects of responsible ecotourism. Running alongside his ranch, he offers unique premium accommodations and activities that bring you closer to wildlife while also raising awareness of their plight with climate change and forest fires.

He told me, “When I was growing up I was astonished by the beauty, the sounds the smells, everything was a discovery.
I knew the Pantanal was much more than cattle raising. No one talked about the future. I wanted to take it in a total different way and it’s now based on three pillars; one is conservation, the other is cattle raising and the third is wildlife observation tourism.

“It’s a vacation but it’s more than a vacation. It’s a way of leaving Caiman with hope. Hope that you can still have wild areas, that you can still protect wildlife, and you can still make a difference. When you go to places like Caiman, and you see how good tourism affects the maintenance of these animals, it makes you positive and hopeful we can have a better world.”

The beauty of Caiman is its tranquillity and oneness with nature. It has the Pantanal culture at its heart while also operating as a cattle ranch with indigenous cowboys called Pantaneiros

On my first safari expedition, under the watchful eye of our guide, Rafael de Andrade, I was able to spot Capybara, Tapir, and rare Marsh Deer. Up in the trees, playful howler monkeys gazed curiously down as they swung by. 

Arguably the jaguar is the jewel of the Pantanal and on my first day, I set off on safari at dawn to find some of these fabulous felines. A handful of the jaguars in Caiman have tracker collars so with the help of GPS, and stealthy indigenous jeep drivers, there is now 100 percent chance of a visitor seeing these big beautiful cats.

Surya and Dakari  mother and cub jaguars – c. Bruno Sartori

With our enthusiastic guide Bruno Sartori at the helm, we went off into the bush to track a mother and cub known as Surya and Daraki, and found the mother lying exhausted from a recent kill, with her playful cub grooming her.  

The Pantanal is great for birdwatching. It is home to the tiny burrowing owl, active in the day, and observing with attitude from a gatepost, I spotted flame-winged parakeets in flocks, the cheeky kiskadee (which sounds like the French c’est que dit?), flycatchers and the symbol of the Pantanal, the Jabiru, a large stork. But my favourite was the stunning orange-backed troupial, with its vibrant feathers.

Fires in the Pantanal have caused the loss of forests and biodiversity, aggravating the climate crisis but Robert has creative ways of helping the wildlife at Caiman by building water blocks and spaces for animals to shelter together from the flames, even ones that normally are predators.

Another conservation initiative, the Arara AzulInstitute (launched in 1994) is one which has helped to save the magnificent Blue Hyacinth Macaw from Brazil’s ‘red list’ of endangered species and increased its population from 1500 in the 1990s to 5000 in the Pantanal – and expanding – with the help of both natural and artificial nests. Seeing the monitoring work firsthand on a field tour with Maria Eduarda Monteiro from the Arara Azul Institute team was a fascinating experience.

Climbing a tree deftly with ropes, she brought down an already enormous nine-day-old chick from a natural nest for routine checkups. Squawking briefly, the brilliant cobalt blue feathered chick was otherwise docile and happy to be handled.

The tenderness and dedication of the young team to keep this extraordinary species on the planet is inspiring and their Adopt a Nest and Adopt a Chick schemes, provide valuable financial support. A safari at dusk is a must and gives a different perspective of the Pantanal as the wetlands come alive with the sounds of nocturnal creatures; crab-eating foxes, frogs, insects and birds. Rafael, seated out front of our jeep holding special headlamps, even picked up an enormous Brazilian Black Tarantula strolling casually across the road.

As we cruised back to our lodge in the warm darkness, the brilliance of stars in the clear night sky felt profound. 
On my final morning, at dawn, we journeyed into higher plains to try and catch a glimpse of the Giant Anteater. Almost blind, but with superpower smell and hearing, these elusive creatures are not easy to find.

Giant anteater c. Bruno Sartori

With only a few hours before my return flight, I struck lucky and  got close up to this strangely Jurassic mammal as it shuffled and munched vegetation with its long snout. Needing to consume 30,000 ants a day to survive, it was not hard to see why Hollywood star Harrison Ford, aka Indiana Jones, had been so captivated by it on a recent Pantanal trip that he had set off on a quad bike in hot pursuit. Indiana Jones and the Giant Anteater? It has a certain ring. 

Pousadas Casa Caiman – Suite Superior c. Felipe Castellari

So job done. I had seen The Big Five. Not only that, between activities and safaris, I had eaten top-class food, enjoyed the luxuriousness of my suite, and relaxed in the open-air sauna and swum in the pool as parakeets cackled in bushes around and lizards nipped niftily across the pathways. I had been to paradise.

As I flew back to Campo Grande later that afternoon looking down on the wetlands from thousands of feet above, I felt more than a little sad to leave, to paraphrase another movie hero James Bond, the Pantanal had left me both shaken and stirred.

As our guide Bruno said to me during my stay:” Our mission here is to make you fall in love with the Pantanal.” Mission accomplished.