Brazil: Alta Floresta's Cristalino Jungle Lodge: Jun 29—Jul 09, 2009

juvenile Harpy Eagle— Photo: Andrew Whittaker

Amazonian forest birding at its best, based out of a single site; exploration from a spectacular canopy tower, excellent forest trails, and wonderful relaxing boat trips, with many sought after regional endemics and lots of primates.

The Cristalino Jungle Lodge is an avian gold mine, having everything that makes Neotropical rainforest birding exciting—huge mixed-species flocks careening through the canopy and understory; frantic parties of antbirds attending army ant swarms; colorful dancing manakins; parrots, macaws, toucans, and cotingas; several species of primates; butterflies galore; and numerous rare and/or highly localized species that are difficult or impossible to find elsewhere.

Located in the heart of a vast forest reserve, along a beautiful blackwater river, the lodge boasts good accommodations, great food, an extensive trail system, a new canopy tower, and a site list of nearly 600 species of birds. Among the possibilities are White-browed Hawk, Harpy Eagle, Cryptic Forest-Falcon, Dark-winged Trumpeter, Razor-billed Curassow, Crimson-bellied Parakeet, Kawall's Parrot, Blue-cheeked Jacamar, Rufous-necked Puffbird, Black-girdled Barbet, Red-necked Aracari, Chestnut-throated Spinetail, Peruvian Recurvebill, Glossy Antshrike, Bare-eyed Antbird, Snow-capped Manakin, Tooth-billed Wren, Yellow-shouldered Grosbeak, and many more.

Alta Floresta lies in northern Mato Grosso, encompassing the southern edge of Amazonian lowland rainforest. Situated between two large rivers (the Rios Tapajos and Xingu) which have, over time, acted as barriers to the dispersal of many bird species, the region can boast of numerous specialty birds not found elsewhere. Adding to the attractiveness of the locale is the presence of several highly sought after bamboo specialties with slightly broader distributions, as well as a wonderful cross section of more widely distributed Amazonian birds.

Combine this tour with our Mato Grosso: Pantanal Safari & Chapada dos Guimaraes tour for a comprehensive Amazonian experience.

Good accommodations; excellent food; birding off your doorstep, with full mornings exploring on mostly easy level forest trails, followed by midday breaks and relaxed afternoon boat trips; warm, humid climate.