Biomas do Brasil — Southern Amazon, Chapada dos Guimarães, Nobres, Pantanal, Iguaçu, Rio & Costa Verde — 23 days

One of the best hotels of Cuiabá, a superior-class property with many facilities: pool, gym, barbecue area and restaurant. The rooms have air conditioning, cable TV, a safe and a private bathroom; the decor is classic. A good choice for a night in Cuiabá on the way to or from the Northern Pantanal. Breakfast included; 2 nights (day 1 and day 5).

Jardim da Amazônia Lodge lies on the banks of the crystal-clear Rio Claro in the south of the Amazon, where the Cerrado and the Amazon meet: a 100-hectare ecological property bordering an 80,000-hectare protected area with an incredible biodiversity. The lodge is built in the style of traditional wooden stilt houses of the 1980s, rustic and cosy, in warm earth tones and natural materials. Activities: bird-watching in an internationally recognised bird reserve with more than 585 species, boat safaris on the Rio Claro and its lagoons (home of the cone-billed tanager, considered extinct for seventy years), primate watching including the endemic Mato Grosso marmoset, and 15 km of trails among centuries-old pequiá and angelim trees. Full board with the lodge programme; 3 nights.

A cosy, charming pousada in the middle of the forest: listen to the birds, enjoy breakfast on the terrace with a splendid view over the valley and regular visits from rare birds such as the blue-crowned motmot, the orange uirapuru and the surucuá, as well as monkeys, coatis and red macaws, among native trees like the pink ipê and the jacaranda. The hosts speak German, English, Portuguese and Spanish. Each of the four suites has a large double bed and a single sofa bed, a private entrance, minibar, private bathroom with hot shower, a desk and a balcony with hammocks; the rooms are cool and ventilated, with ceiling fans instead of air conditioning. Non-smoking. Full board; 2 nights.

O Reino Encantado (“the enchanted kingdom”) holds the main spring of the Rio Salobra and lies in an extensive Cerrado area near the Gruta da Lagoa Azul state park in Nobres. In operation since 2004, with a visitor centre, reception, accommodation and restaurant. The lodge is less than 300 metres from the spring and has 14 cosy rooms with air conditioning, private bathroom with hot shower, free toiletries and Wi-Fi; its rural character gives it a warm, authentic atmosphere. Restaurant, bar, garden, continental breakfast buffet and a 24-hour reception. Full board; 1 night.

UeSo Pantanal is a modest, family-run lodge at km 38 of the Transpantaneira, about 140 km from Cuiabá (transfer approx. 3 hours). Swiss-Brazilian owners, 18 simple air-conditioned rooms and 5 lakeside chalets with verandas and hammocks. Regional buffet meals three times a day, a small plunge pool and a 17-metre observation tower. Activities with English-speaking guide, shared with other guests: horseback rides, boat trips on the Rio Claro or Rio Novo, wildlife walks and night safaris. Optional full-day jaguar excursion to Porto Jofre (June–November).

Nadai Confort Hotel & Spa is located in the centre of Foz do Iguaçu. Rooms have air conditioning, cable TV, minibar and private bathroom with marble floors; Wi-Fi is free throughout. Facilities include a heated outdoor pool and jacuzzi, an à-la-carte restaurant with national and international dishes, a gym, a spa with massages and beauty treatments, and a kids’ club. A well-equipped tourist-class choice with a central location.

Windsor Plaza is a four-star hotel one minute on foot from Copacabana beach, with a rooftop pool, sauna, fitness centre and an American bar on the terrace. The lobby restaurant serves Brazilian specialities at the weekend. Rooms have air conditioning, flat-screen TV, minibar and a private bathroom with shower and hairdryer; Wi-Fi is free. Staff can help with city information and tourist services. Breakfast included; 5 nights.

Vila Mont is set on a hilly estate of about 40 hectares in the Atlantic Rainforest, twenty minutes by car from colonial Paraty, halfway between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo on the Costa Verde. The lodge takes about 18 guests in detached two-person lodges around a central main house with kitchen and living area. The garden and the forest behind it are very rich in birds. The stay is half board (breakfast and dinner); guests may also cook. Two natural pools with small waterfalls are fed by a clear stream. Saco do Mamanguá, the largest fjord of Brazil, is a two-hour walk over the hill. A nature guide with car is included in the programme.

Day 1: pick-up in Cuiabá and transfer of about 3.5 hours to the lodge, introductory walk, dinner and campfire. Day 2: early photo trip (6:00) on the Rio Claro and the lake looking for the cone-billed tanager, the Angelim trail, lunch, canoeing on the lake and the macaws’ breeding site. Day 3: canoe trip to the Piquiá trail (about three hours), lunch and a free afternoon or a walk with the local guide. Day 4: after breakfast transfer back to Cuiabá. Full board at the lodge. Jardim da Amazônia is an ecological corridor where Cerrado and Amazon meet, with more than 30 mammal species, seven primate species and over 585 bird species.

First part of the UeSo arrangement with your own guide. Day 1: pick-up in Cuiabá and transfer to Chapada dos Guimarães (70 km); after lunch the Mirante viewpoint at the geographic centre of South America, a short walk on the plateau and other sights depending on opening hours. Day 2: the Véu de Noiva waterfall, lunch in the village and a walk to the table mountain. Day 3: transfer to Bom Jardim near Nobres (150 km, two hours), lunch, river snorkelling in the crystal-clear spring river with life vest, mask, snorkel and dive boots, and around 17:00 the macaws and parrots of Lagoa Azul. Full board at the pousada in Chapada and the lodge in Nobres.

Day 4: from Nobres 288 km to the Pantanal, of which 38 km on the unpaved Transpantaneira with wildlife stops; lunch at UeSo Lodge, a walk for capuchin and howler monkeys and the 17-metre observation tower. Day 5: optional sunrise walk, horse ride through the floodplain (no experience needed), free time by the pool, late-afternoon boat trip with caimans and possibly giant otters; optional night safari on foot. Day 6: full-day jaguar safari at Porto Jofre (see separate excursion). Day 7: sunrise walk on request, wildlife walk, lunch and a late-afternoon horse ride. Day 8: after breakfast transfer to Cuiabá airport. Full board at the lodge.

Full-day motorboat excursion from the lodge to Porto Jofre in search of the jaguar in the Meeting of the Waters conservation area. Offered only in the low-water season (approx. June/July–October/November); sightings are almost guaranteed. Bookable at a supplement.

Morning pick-up at the hotel for a private excursion to the Brazilian side of the falls. From the visitor centre a drive through the park’s subtropical vegetation leads to the walkways along the canyon with panoramic views of the falls and the Devil’s Throat. A glass lift takes you to the upper viewpoint with cafés. Park entrance not included (approx. USD 30).

Morning pick-up for a private excursion across the Tancredo Neves bridge into Argentina. Several trails offer panoramic views over the falls and the surrounding forest; the highlight is the platform on the edge of the Devil’s Throat. Optional add-on: the Gran Aventura jungle and waterfall boat tour. Park entrance not included (approx. USD 30).

The urban bike tour starts at 9 am at the bike shop in Copacabana. Cycling shows Rio the way the cariocas live it, beyond Copacabana, Sugarloaf and Christ the Redeemer. The 3-hour city tour runs along Copacabana beach to Sugarloaf Mountain and the small Praia Vermelha, through lively Botafogo and on to the Lagoa city lake, with a Dutch- or English-speaking guide. An environmentally friendly alternative to bus tourism that covers a lot of ground in a few hours.

Shared excursion to the statue of Christ the Redeemer on the 710-metre Corcovado mountain, one of the most famous monuments in the world. Pick-up at the hotel in the morning or afternoon, then the cog train winds up the steep slope through the Tijuca rainforest. At the top, close-up views of the statue and sweeping panoramas over Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, the botanical garden and the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon. Drop-off at the hotel afterwards. English-speaking guide; also available on a private basis at a supplement.

During the stay at Vila Mont a very good nature and bird guide, such as Chico, is at your disposal and is also your driver. He knows the best spots and agrees the excursion goals with you for the coming days. Choices include several good forest areas, a hummingbird garden where 6 to 9 species can be seen and photographed at close range, higher parts of the Mata Atlântica, and a walk of about 3 hours followed by a boat trip along the beaches of Saco do Mamanguá. More than 400 species have been recorded in the region, 100 of them Atlantic Forest endemics, among them jacamars, puffbirds, aracaris, toucans, trogons, motmots and many hummingbirds. Feeders at the lodge bring species close to your room. A reserve visit combined with relaxed rafting can be booked locally at extra cost.

Jungle truck ride and speedboat trip under the falls on the Argentine side. Bookable at a supplement during the Argentine-side excursion.