The Amazon may have all the fame and glory, but the Pantanal is a far better place to see wildlife. In the Amazon, the animals hide in the dense foliage, but in the open spaces of the Pantanal, wildlife is visible to the most causal observer. The Pantanal is vast wetlands in the center of South America; it is about half the size of France – some 230.000 sq km. The region covers areas in Bolivia, Paraguay, but the most part is in Brazil. Pantanal is a paradise for wild life watchers and photographers, because they may encounter a concentration of the many species. As many as 230 species of fish, 650 of birds, 80 of mammals and 50 of reptiles have been identified. A visit to Pantanal will be an unforgettable experience.

You can access the Pantanal from the North via the capital of state Mato Grosso (MT), Cuiabá (Brazil), or via the capital of state Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Campo Grande in the South. Two thirds of the Pantanal is located in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, and one third is located in Mato Grosso. For the budget traveler it might be cheaper to go via Cuiabá and rent a car and take the dirt road (Transpantaneira) that goes straight into the Pantanal, in the direction of the town Porto Jofre. Along the road the wild life are rich, where you may observe the fauna & flora from the car. Another option is to go via Campo Grande, where you will have the possibility to one more experience except the fauna & flora of Pantanal, you may also visit the paradise of transparent, crystal clear waters in the rivers around the town of Bonito, MS. There are also options of river cruisers departing from Corumba, MS in Brazil, a border town to Bolivia.  

The Pantanal has its flooded season generally from the end of December until May, and the rivers overflow making the region a large flooded plain with shallow waters. The fish and reptiles disperse themselves and the other animals concentrate in the dry areas. During this time, the means of transportation are by horse, tractors and boats. In the season of dryness (months from June until the beginning of December), the water lowers and the rivers and many lagoons start to appear on the plain, and may end up dry. During this period one may see a great concentration of animals (mammals, birds and reptiles) feeding around the lagoons and the riverbanks. Worth to note is that region has a tropical climate and the winter time is during June through September, when the temperature is quit hot daytime but can fall nighttime dramatically approaching 0°C. The south may have a couple of degrees less in average than in the north of Pantanal.