By road
Cuiabá, ~100 km to Poconé, then the Transpantaneira dirt road
South America · Brazil
Pantanal, Brazil
The world's largest tropical wetland · Cuiabá, ~100 km to Poconé, then the Transpantaneira dirt road
Getting there
By air
Marechal Rondon, Cuiabá (CGB), ~100 km to Poconé at the start of the Transpantaneira
Best time to visit
July to October — the dry season, when wildlife gathers at the shrinking pools
Don't miss
Transpantaneira road
Porto Jofre
Cuiabá River
Poconé
Encontro das Águas State Park
Nobres and Bom Jardim
Things to do
Jaguar spotting by boat on the Cuiabá River
Horse riding at a working fazenda
Boat trips
Birdwatching
Night drives for giant anteaters
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Ebertfloresta · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
Neutral clothing, binoculars, insect repellent, a hat, sturdy shoes, a rain jacket for the wet months
A quieter corner
The Transpantaneira's wooden bridges at dawn, when caimans line the roadside pools and hyacinth macaws fly over
Questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Pantanal?
July to October — the dry season, when wildlife gathers at the shrinking pools. What to pack: Neutral clothing, binoculars, insect repellent, a hat, sturdy shoes, a rain jacket for the wet months.
How do I get to Pantanal?
Fly into Marechal Rondon, Cuiabá (CGB), ~100 km to Poconé at the start of the Transpantaneira.
What is there to do in Pantanal?
Jaguar spotting by boat on the Cuiabá River, horse riding at a working fazenda, boat trips, birdwatching, night drives for giant anteaters. A quieter find: The Transpantaneira's wooden bridges at dawn, when caimans line the roadside pools and hyacinth macaws fly over.
What should I eat in Pantanal?
Fazenda meals of grilled beef, pintado catfish, rice and beans, farofa, fresh fruit.
About Pantanal
- Riverside
Where it is
The Pantanal is a vast wetland in the centre-west of Brazil, mainly in the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, reached on its northern side by the Transpantaneira road from Poconé near Cuiabá.
History
Cattle ranchers settled the floodplain in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the fazendas still run herds across land that floods every summer. Conservation and ecotourism grew in the late twentieth century, and the northern Pantanal around Porto Jofre became the most reliable place in the world to see wild jaguars.
People
Pantaneiros, the cattle folk of the floodplain, ride horses through water for months of the year; many fazendas now host guests, and local boatmen guide the jaguar trips.
Known for
- Wild jaguars
- Hyacinth macaws
- The Transpantaneira road
- Working cattle fazendas
Did you know?
The wetland floods and drains with the seasons, so the same ground is lake in March and dry pasture by September.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.