Natural Wonders of Brazil

Your tour director will meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel on the famous Copacabana Beach. The elegant five-star Belmond Copacabana Palace offers luxurious rooms with marble bathrooms and panoramic ocean views. Soak up the sun in the magnificent pool and join Brazil’s stylish socialites at the Piano Bar. This is the perfect relaxing introduction to an intensely enjoyable trip.

This is an exceptional urban setting, shaped alongside the city’s natural elements. It’s a UNESCO Site that stretches from the Tijuca National Park down to the Copacabana Bay. Begin the tour of Rio’s highlights with the towering statue of Christ the Redeemer, before a barbecued lunch with views over Guanabara Bay. The tour continues to Urca district in the afternoon, with an unforgettable cable car ride up Sugar Loaf Mountain, 396 metres above the harbour.

After breakfast, it’s Rio de Janeiro’s Botanical Garden next, one of the most important ecological sanctuaries in the world. Far below the right arm of Christ the Redeemer, this 140-hectare park contains over 6,000 different species of tropical and subtropical plants and trees. Today’s meal is also a treat; the Chef’s Table is one of the most exclusive fine dining adventures in Rio. Guests can watch the chef prepare dishes inspired by the day’s fresh ingredients, and the menu is expertly paired with selected wines.

After a transfer to the airport and flight to Campo Grande, a private guide is waiting to drive you to Caiman Ecological Refuge. This is a pioneering ecotourism enterprise in Southern Pantanal, sitting on a 53,000-hectare cattle ranch (Estancia Caiman) near the city of Miranda. In addition to ecotourism, Caiman is involved with environmental research and conservation projects like the Hyacinth Macaw Project, Onçafari (Jaguar) Project and Blue-Fronted Parrot Project. This is a chance to get up close some fascinating creatures.

Today allows you your own time to explore this beautiful environment with at a pace that suites you. The wide array of activities offered here include photographic safaris, night safaris, Jeep safaris, walking tours, Canadian canoe tours, caiman tours, bike tours and birdwatching opportunities like nowhere else in the world. After the amazing sights, stimulate your mind further with the Environmental Interpretation Centre, a cultural space designed to shed light on Pantanal’s ecosystem as well as the region’s history.

Today you can either continue working your way through the activities at this fun and fascinating environment or spend a full day with the Jaguar Habituation Team. The team spend much of the day searching for clues that illuminate the activities of the nocturnal Jaguar, increasing the chances of finding them at night. Join the team as they attempt to locate them.

After breakfast, you’re flown to Foz do Iguaçu, where you’ll be met by your local tour director. Your hotel, the Belmond Hotel das Cataratas, is the only hotel inside Brazil’s Iguassu National Park. Enjoy exclusive access to the magnificent falls at dawn and dusk, when the park is closed for others. A former Portuguese colonial residence, this five-star hotel features a tennis court as well as a cocktail bar and outdoor pool, and the Itaipu Restaurant provides supreme view of the falls.

Take a descending trail through the canyon on a tour of the Brazilian Falls, eventually boarding a glass elevator to get even closer. Afterward, the Bird Park takes you into the forest to spot the rare Brazilian species, many of which are endangered. You can also see the falls from above on an optional helicopter ride. This exciting 10-minute tour is a unique opportunity to see The Triple Frontier (the Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay border) and the famous Itaipú Dam and reservoir.

Experience a day in Argentina followed by a transfer to Puerto Iguazu airport. Cross the Tancredo Neves Bridge, with its view of the Iguassu Canyon below, as you head towards the Iguaçu National Park. Follow the walkways to the top of the waterfalls to see spectacular views of the ‘Cataratas’ from amidst the orchids and exotic birds, before you come to the suspended platform at the brink of the largest waterfall, Devil’s Throat. Bid a fond farewell and begin your homeward journey.