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Brazil · South America · southern hemisphere
Pantanal is at its best for lakes & coastline in July to August. Good but not prime in June and September.
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildlife | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 42 | 67 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 67 | 42 | 15 |
| Lakes & Coastline | 10 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 47 | 71 | 92 | 88 | 63 | 37 | 17 | 10 |
No reliable monthly crowd data for this destination — the proxy used elsewhere did not pass its checks here, so nothing is shown rather than a guess.
Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the year.
The best place in the world to see a wild jaguar, and the reason is seasonal — as the floodwaters drop from April the cats concentrate along the river banks where the boats can reach them. In the wet season they are dispersed across a swamp half again the size of England
November to April if wildlife is the point. The Transpantaneira road floods, the animals scatter and many lodges close — though the birding is extraordinary and the prices collapse.
August to mid-September, the jaguar window, when the river lodges fill
Long boat days in strong sun, heat, serious mosquitoes in the wetter months — and yellow fever vaccination is advised. The lodges are remote and a long drive from Cuiabá.
Porto Jofre at the end of the Transpantaneira is where the jaguar boats run from, and the lodges there are expensive and full in August. The northern Pantanal lodges further up the road are cheaper and still excellent for everything but jaguars.
The floods are the ecosystem, and they also put most of the roads under water.Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · Dec
Kept out of the score on purpose. Averaging a rare catastrophe into a monthly number would tell you something false; the warning is the honest form.
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