DAY-BY-DAY ITINERARY
Day 1: Arrivals in Alta Floresta.
The tour begins in Alta Floresta, a town in the southern Amazon region of the state of Mato Grosso. Alta Floresta is reached by a daily flight from Cuiabá, the state capital. Upon arrival in Alta Floresta in the early afternoon, you will be met at the airport by your guide for the short transfer to a comfortable birding lodge just outside of town, where a light lunch will be waiting for us. Once the hottest part of the afternoon passes, we can bird the grounds of our lodge Fazenda Anacã. The lodge is part of a novel project which combines a preservation ethos and sustainable farming practices as integral parts of its operation as a new birdwatching destination in the region. The palm swamps and gallery forests near the lodge are good for Blue-and-yellow and Red-bellied Macaws, Point-tailed Palmcreeper, and Blue-necked Tanager. After dinner we can do some owling on the hotel property to look for Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl, Crested Owl and Great Potoo.
Night at Fazenda Anacã.
Day 2: Birding near Alta Floresta. PM transfer to Rio Azul.
Day 3 – 5: Rio Azul
We have three full days to bird at Rio Azul Jungle Lodge, truly one of the best kept secrets in the Brazilian Amazon. Set in a secluded clearing near its namesake river, the lodge and its surroundings boast a bird list exceeding 500 species. The lodge grounds are remarkably birdy: hummingbird feeders and the lodge garden attract many hummingbirds; the spectacular Crimson Topaz lords over the feeders, but there is plenty of room for the many White-necked Jacobins, Gray-breasted Sabrewing, Fork-tailed Woodnymph and Gould’s Jewelfront that are all regulars. Shy species such as Rufous-breasted, Long-tailed and Straight-billed Hermits all visit the feeders, as does Black-eared Fairy and Green-tailed Goldenthroat on occasion. Other hummingbirds found on the grounds, some seasonally, include Amethyst Woodstar, Black-bellied Thorntail, and Rufous-throated Sapphire.
A sturdy tower in the middle of the lodge clearing gets us closer to canopy species that live nearby, including Curl-crested, Red-necked, Lettered and Chestnut-eared Aracari, Eastern Striolated-Puffbird, Swallow-winged, and Brown-banded Puffbird, Yellow-tufted Woodpecker, Dusky-billed Parrotlet, Golden-winged Parakeet, Paradise Jacamar, and a variety of colourful tanagers including Blue-necked, Green-and-gold, Opal-rumped, Turquoise, Yellow-backed and Dotted Tanagers, Short-billed and Purple Honeycreepers, and Blue, Black-faced, and even the rare White-bellied Dacnis shows up occasionally. The tower is also good for parrot flyovers first thing in the morning, with Blue-and-yellow Macaws, Red-bellied Macaw, White-bellied Parrot and Kawall’s Amazon amongst the usual suspects. At just 12 metres high, the tower is delightfully easy to climb and is a great place to spend our first morning at the lodge, in addition to being ever so convenient to check out at any time of day.
We will also spend time birding the entrance road to the lodge, where a stunted white sand forest holds a unique avifauna including Bronzy Jacamar, Natterer’s Slaty-Antshrike, Southern White-fringed Antwren, Pale-bellied Mourner, Black Manakin and Spotted Puffbird. The white sand forest is often a good place to search for the endemic Bald Parrot, a compelling species with a completely unfeathered, bright orange head, a bird that was only described to science in 2002. Beyond the entrance track in the neighbouring cattle ranches, we find good numbers of parrots, with six macaw species including Hyacinth Macaw.
Taller campinarana forest is home to specialties such as Klages’s Gnatcatcher, Uniform Woodcreeper,
Dates:
2 – 8 May 2025
19 – 25 October 2025
Tour Length:
7 days
Difficulty:
Fairly easy.
Accommodations:
Excellent. Spacious en-suite rooms at Fazenda Anacã and charming private cabins at Rio Azul. Air-conditioning, hot water showers, and swimming pools at both locations.
Price:
$2600 USD per person in double occupancy * Maximum 4 participants.
