Brazil Macaw Canyon and Giant Anteater Photography Tour

A Brazilian wildlife adventure focused on macaws and giant anteaters.

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DepartureAugust 26–September 1, 20252025

DestinationBrazilPhotography journey

Photography focusMacaws & giant anteatersField-led learning

Group styleSmall groupHosted experience

About this expedition

Join Daniel for close encounters with Brazil’s colorful red-and-green macaws, and one of its more strange, yet captivating, creatures, the giant anteater. This is a wonderful extension to add to your Jaguar tour with us!

This journey will take us just south of Brazil’s Pantanal region. Here we’ll visit “Macaw Canyon” where red-and-green macaws are plentiful. Photograph these colorful birds in flight, perched in trees, and interacting with one another. This is the time of year when the red-and-green macaws mate, so there should be plenty of excitement in the air!

We’ll also have the opportunity to enjoy close-up encounters with the unusual giant anteater, the largest of all the anteaters. Though a bit odd-looking, you’ll surely be mesmerized by these animals as they meander in their natural habitat, sniffing out unsuspecting ant and termite mounds to satisfy their 30,000 insect-per-day appetites.

Last but not least, enjoy a unique snorkel that will introduce us to the river Rio da Prata’s underwater paradise. Swim in crystalline waters (clear as gin!) and photograph the colorful fish, aquatic plants, and landscapes in this unspoiled environment, an experience not to be missed! Note: Dan will be leading this tour with our local guide.

Itinerary

Tuesday, August 26

Depart the US/Canada and fly to São Paulo (GRU) or Campinas (VCP), usually an overnight flight, arriving on August 27.

Wednesday, August 27

Upon arrival in Brazil, board a connecting flight to Campo Grande (airport code CGR). We will provide flight suggestions to Campo Grande (CGR) closer to the trip time. There will be a local representative to greet you at the airport and transfer you to the Hotel Deville Prime Campo Grande. Tonight, we’ll gather for a group welcome dinner.

Thursday, August 28 (B)

After breakfast, enjoy a sunrise visit to the Avenue of the Blue-and-Gold Macaws and spend some time photographing these beautiful birds. After, we’ll make our way to the small city of Jardim and “Macaw Canyon.”

Macaw Canyon has been described as a mini Grand Canyon, though it isn’t the canyon that draws people here. This 400-foot deep, 300-foot wide limestone sinkhole is home to 20+ pairs of red-and-green macaws.

We’ll situate ourselves on viewing platforms with plenty of space, so we can photograph these colorful birds in flight, perched in trees, and interacting with one another. This is the finest place in the world to photograph these large macaws, and we can expect numerous unique, and sometimes challenging, photo opportunities. The canyon’s vibrant pink and yellow walls, interspersed with various lights and shadows, are an excellent location to perfect your photo technique. This is also the time of year when the red-and-green macaws mate, so there should be plenty of excitement in the air!

In the evening, we’ll return to Jardim and overnight at Vitória Hotel.

Friday, August 29 & Saturday, August 30 (B, L)

Rise and shine, adventure awaits! Each morning, we’ll make our way to Macaw Canyon to hone our action photography skills even more.

Around lunchtime, when there isn’t much action, we’ll head back to the hotel to eat and have a short rest. There are two options for our afternoons, and we can decide as a group each day which option we prefer.

The first option is to head back to Macaw Canyon for even more red-and-green macaw opportunities.

The second option is to drive to Anteater Valley for close-up encounters with a more peculiar-looking animal, the giant anteater. There are several great locations where we can observe and photograph 5-10 of these impressive mammals from just a few meters away. Giant anteaters are the largest of the anteaters and can grow up to eight feet long and weigh up to 120 pounds. Their well-adapted noses help them detect ant and termite nests, and their sticky tongues slurp up to 30,000 ants/termites per day! Though anteaters are generally docile animals, they do have razor-sharp claws and are known for their ability to fight off pumas and jaguars. Our biologist guides have many years of experience with giant anteaters, so we’ll be sure to adhere to their guidelines while we photograph these endearing animals.

Overnight at Vitória Hotel

Sunday, August 31 (B, L)

Hopefully having our fill of red-and-green macaws and anteaters, today we will have an early breakfast and then make our way to Recanto Ecológico Rio da Prata, where there are two options.

The first (and more adventurous) option is to stay at Recanto Ecológico Rio da Prata for a nature experience like no other. We’ll gear up in neoprene wetsuits and booties and take a short drive to a nearby trail. A brief walk on this pleasant trail will take us through a beautiful riparian forest filled with old trees, orchids, and bromeliads. Keep an eye out for the creatures that inhabit this forest, including coatis, capuchin monkeys, peccaries, agoutis, anteaters, and several species of birds. At the end of the trail, we’ll snorkel in the crystal clear waters of the Olho d’Água River, a tributary of the Rio da Prata. This aquatic environment hosts 50+ species of Brazil’s native tropical fish along with amazing underwater scenery and vegetation, and you’ll have ample time to enjoy and photograph this unspoiled paradise.

For those who prefer a less adventurous afternoon, enjoy a tour of the Recanto Ecológico Rio da Prata gardens before taking a short drive to the area of EcoPark Jardim, located just downstream on the Rio da Prata. Here you’ll have the opportunity to photograph curassows and a plethora of bird species. Several different types of macaws, parakeets, parrots, hummingbirds, hawks, owls, and other avian species inhabit this area. The endemic blaze-winged parakeet is one of the top species that is often seen at this location.

In the afternoon, we’ll return to the Vitória Hotel to check out and then have lunch. After lunch, we’ll drive back to Campo Grande, keeping an eye out for the Greater Rhea family groups that are commonly seen along this route.

Back in Campo Grande, we’ll go to the airport to catch our flight to Cuiabá.

SNORKELERS, please book this flight to remain with Dan and the rest of the group for transfers:
Airline: Azul (United/Star Alliance Member Airline)
Flight Number: AD 4148
Depart Campo Grande (CGR) at 9:30 PM/21:30
DIRECT FLIGHT/NO STOPOVER
Arrive Cuiabá (CGB) at 10:40 PM/22:40

NON-SNORKELERS can book the flight above, or depart earlier in the day with Tanya:
Airline: Azul (United/Star Alliance Member Airline)
Flight Number: AD 4728
Depart Campo Grande (CGR) at 2:25 PM/14:25
DIRECT FLIGHT/NO STOPOVER
Arrive Cuiabá (CGB) at 3:35 PM/15:35

Please note that if you choose this earlier flight option, you will depart from the Vitória Hotel very early in the morning, so you won’t be able to take part in any activities planned for this day (August 31).

Overnight at Amazon Hotel Aeroporto