Pantanal

Located primarily in Brazil, the Pantanal UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, one of the world’s largest tropical wetland areas, also expands into parts of Bolivia and Paraguay. While the Amazon is more famous than Pantanal, the wide open spaces of the wetland provide better opportunities for wildlife viewing on a Brazil vacation package.

Pantanal is twenty times the size of the Florida Everglades and is a sanctuary for wildlife. The various watering holes and grasslands are thought to host over 600 bird species, 400 fish, 300 mammals and 480 reptile species. Many endangered species call Pantanal home including a healthy and relatively large jaguar population. There are two protected areas located in Pantanal: Pantanal Matogrossense National Park established in September 1981 and SESC Pantanal Private Natural Heritage Reserve established in 1998.