A Sunset Canoeing Expedition to Spot Wildlife around the Pantanal Lakes

• Paddle you way through marshes and lagoons on a canoeing adventure

It’s time for an up close and personal experience with the lush vegetation, majestic wildlife and the cacophony of nature’s sounds of world’s largest wetlands as we paddle our way through marshes and lagoons on a canoeing adventure that involves witnessing a beautiful sunset while on the waters of the Pantanal.

Our canoeing excursion kicks off as we leave our lodge in the afternoon and take a jeep or truck ride to our canoeing starting point. Once we arrive at a spot where the flooded plains meet dry land, it’s time to board our canoes with our expert guide and head out onto the water. As we paddle along, we’ll be keeping a lookout for a caiman gliding past looking for his next meal or the world’s largest rodent, the capybara taking a swim or the longest weasel on earth, the giant otter, hunting for fish. The giant otters can grow up to six feet long and are excellent swimmers, thanks to their short, webbed feet and flattened tail. But an amazing fact about these animals is that their whiskers (called vibrissae), can be used to detect changes in currents and water pressure, proving to be extremely helpful in searching for fish or other prey. You may even hear the otters before seeing them, as they are very loud animals, and produce around nine different types of sounds from quick barks to explosive snorts and wavering screams.

And if we’re lucky, we may even catch a glimpse of the biggest cat in the Americas...the jaguar!

As the day falls to its sunset, we’ll continue to paddle through the wetlands, experiencing the breathtaking scene of large flocks of birds returning to their evening roosts against the vibrant and varied colors of the sky as the sun slowly sinks below the horizon.

After our memorable sunset excursion, it’s time to head back to our lodge for a filling dinner, having experienced firsthand the beautiful and exotic wonders that await in the Pantanal wetlands.