The hook
The world's largest tropical wetland, a vast seasonally-flooded plain teeming with more visible wildlife than the Amazon, and by far the best place on Earth to see a wild jaguar.
01Why it's worth it
While the Amazon hides its wildlife in dense forest, the Pantanal, an immense wetland the size of a small country spread across central Brazil, is open and astonishingly rich, making it South America's premier wildlife destination. Its patchwork of grasslands, gallery forest, rivers, and marshes supports staggering numbers of animals in plain sight: thousands of caimans basking on riverbanks, capybaras (the world's largest rodents) in family groups, giant anteaters, tapirs, marsh deer, and a spectacular abundance of birds, from hyacinth macaws to jabiru storks. Above all, it is the best place in the world to see the jaguar: along certain rivers in the dry season, boat trips have a genuinely high chance of finding these big cats prowling and swimming the banks, an experience that rivals any African safari. Exploring by boat, on horseback, on night drives, and on foot from the lodges and ranches, you encounter more wildlife more easily here than almost anywhere. Remote and increasingly popular for exactly this reason, it is a wildlife-lover's dream, best in the dry months when animals concentrate.
02How to experience it
Go in the dry season and base at a lodge or ranch; for jaguars, focus on the northern Pantanal's rivers around Porto Jofre with boat safaris. Mix boat, horseback, night, and walking excursions for the full range of wildlife. It is remote but far easier for viewing than the Amazon; pick conservation-minded operators.