This edition of Food Safaris Bonito & Pantanal was designed for those who love nature and the people who conserve it. Bonito & Pantanal are two natural heritage treasures in Brazil that everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime to feel, hear, experience and connect with their Brazilian roots. Joining a Food Safari, in addition to exceeding personal expectations, contributes to local development.
Arrival at Campo Grande/MS airport (CGR). Our team will be waiting for your arrival to take you to the hotel. Check-in at the apartment and rest. Be ready, the Culture and Nature of Pantanal & Bonito is waitin for you!
Meeting of the group in the hotel lobby at 4 pm and departure to visit the Pantanal Biopark – the newest attraction in the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul.
Afterwards, we will have dinner at a traditional restaurant, where we will try Sobá – elected the typical dish of Campo Grande and cultural expression of Japanese immigrants in the State.
Return to the hotel for rest and overnight.
Check-out of the hotel and departure to visit an artisanal chocolate company with ingredients from the Cerrado. Then we will visit the Campo Grande municipal market, where we will buy some supplies that we will use along the trip to Bonito and Pantanal.
Departure by van to the city of Bonito. They are approx. 4h trip with stop at the beginning of the trip for lunch in a regional restaurant.
Arrival in Bonito, check-in at the hotel and rest. We will leave at 19:00 for a restaurant, where we are warmly welcomed.
In a private space, Joãozinho will teach us how to prepare a Caipirinha de Guavira – one of his specialties. Then, we will be rewarded with the delicious Moqueca Pantaneira that chef Felipe Caran serves with great flavor and invoice for our group that night. Return to the hotel and overnight.
Departure from the hotel after breakfast. We will continue to a nature property where we will be welcomed to learn about the production processes of artisanal Sweet Milk, the property’s vegetable garden and also a private class on the famous Paraguayan Soup.
Delicious lunch will be served with a menu signed by chef Paulo Machado.
After the siesta in the farm’s hammocks, we’ll start the floating tour. The farm has already won the award for the best ecotourism tour in Brazil (2012 and 2013). The smooth floating is done in a huge aquarium with crystal clear water for approx. 2,200m. The sensation you get is of flying among underwater animals and plants. After the tour, we’ll head back to the farmhouse structure to scrape off the candy pot.
In the middle of the afternoon, departure to a place with a huge crater 120m deep and 500m in diameter. Place inhabited by Red Macaws. Return to the inn in the late afternoon. Dinner in a restaurant and overnight.
Breakfast and board the van to go to the most famous tour in Bonito: The Gruta do Lago Azul. This contemplative and historical tour allows you to see and photograph the lake that enchants with its intensely blue waters and beautiful speleothems dating back thousands of years. Return to the hotel for check-out.
We will then continue to the Pantanal, a journey on a paved and dirt road of approximately 2 hours.
Arrival at the Pantanal Farm for lunch. Check-in at the apartments and rest.
Departure at 16:00 for the first tour in the Pantanal. We will leave in an open vehicle to go on a safari to observe the wildlife of the Pantanal.
Return for dinner and overnight.
Breakfast at the inn and meeting with the cooks to learn how to prepare Maracaju sausage. This South Mato Grosso delight has a Geographical Indication and is prepared with special cuts of beef and cut “on the tip of the knife”. We will also learn the details of preparing Chipa – the cheese biscuit most consumed by the Pantanal people; and Caribéu – a cassava stew with sun-dried meat that is produced by the farm.
Before having lunch, we will rest in the farms’s swimming pool and enjoy the sights and the sound of the birds. In the afternoon, we’ll take a boat along the São Domingos stream to observe the wildlife and risk fishing for some fish to taste a Ceviche and the famous Broth of Piranha for dinner.
After dinner, everyone is invited to participate in the Night Safari, where we will have the chance to see owls and, with luck, some felines such as the ocelot and the jaguar. Return for overnight.
Walk at dawn to catch the splendor of the Pantanal in the early hours of the day. Return for breakfast.
Check-out and departure at 9 am to Campo Grande.
We suggest scheduling a flight from 2pm.
End of Food Safaris Culture and Nature of Pantanal & Bonito.
