SouthWild Jaguar Lodge

viewing wildlife from boats on the river

Set in the north-central Pantanal in southern Brazil, SouthWild Jaguar Lodge is a particularly wildlife-focused live-aboard boat.

This place is by far the best location in the world for viewing and photographing wild jaguars.

The lodges are run by SouthWild, the wildlife tourism operation associated with American biologist Dr Charles Munn, whose long-running work in the Pantanal has featured in BBC and National Geographic wildlife films.

SouthWild Jaguar Lodge is moored away from Porto Jofre, with the advantage being mostly one of atmosphere, waking up already inside the reserve rather than commuting into it, although if you are lucky you can see Jaguar and giant river otters from your room.

The lodge is made up of three elements …

At the front there is the newest section, a tailor-made barge that contains the largest and most comfortable rooms, called “Jaguar Suites”, as described below.

The central section is the original old ‘flotel’, with the main lounge and dining areas on the upper deck, as well as a space where regular wildlife and scientific presentations are given by the various naturalists and expert guides on board. A number of lower cost rooms are on the deck below.

Floating far to the rear is the third and final element, a smaller, purpose-built barge that houses the various large generators that power the entire complex.

As you can see from the imagery, SouthWild Jaguar Lodge is by no means a luxury operation. But it is comfortable and, above all, it’s very serious about its wildlife viewing. Over the years the place has hosted many of the world’s leading wildlife documentary film crews and photographers.

Rooms

Guest accommodation spans the two vessels of different scale and style.

• Jaguar Suite : x12 : 30 sqm, with a four-metre floor-to-ceiling window, private terrace and a radio alert for jaguar sightings on the riverbank
• Flotel Cabin : x8 : smaller (9 to 15 sqm), air-conditioned, private bathroom, on the deck below the main lounge

The suites are fitted with radios which will alert you if a jaguar is spotted wandering along the adjacent riverbank, which you can observe via a special viewing hatch. There is also a fan system to draw naturally river-cool night air through the room, as an alternative to running the air-conditioner.

Activities

SouthWild Jaguar Lodge is almost exclusively focused on wildlife viewing by motorboat, with a heavy leaning towards jaguars, but with plenty of other animals on view, including capybaras, giant otters and a host of birdlife.

• Motorboat safari (twice daily, 4 hours each, jaguar-focused)
• Daily wildlife lectures by onboard naturalist guide

The twice-daily jaguar outings are the core of every day. Each runs for four hours, covering river channels across the wider area in low, stable motorboats with cushioned seating and expert naturalist guides whose primary role is tracking, positioning and reading jaguar behaviour. There are no sun shades on the boats, which can be a disadvantage on hotter days.

In our experience with the SouthWild team, the quality of the guides is better than other lodges in the area.

Safari planning

The Pantanal is usually visited for a period of 7-12 nights, usually split over between two to five different lodges.

SouthWild Jaguar Lodge usually features for 3-4 nights and is generally considered to be the wildlife highlight of the safari.

Seasonality

The best time of year to visit the Pantanal is generally considered to be during Jul-Oct, which represents the main dry season.

It’s worth noting that June and the first part of November are two ‘secret seasons’, when the jaguar and other animal sightings are usually strong, but visitor numbers can be much lower.

At other times of year the conditions become so challenging that the area only becomes suitable for visitors with very specific seasonally-driven interests, such as bird-watchers and fishermen.

Getting there

The Pantanal is generally accessed via São Paulo Airport (GRU) or Rio de Janeiro Airport (SDU) into one of two local airports.

SouthWild Jaguar Lodge is usually accessed from SouthWild Pantanal Lodge, which serves as the staging post on the way in by road from Cuiabá Airport (CGB). The journey between the two lodges involves a drive of around 80 km (48 miles) along a dirt road down to Porto Jofre.

It is also possible to charter a light aircraft direct from Cuiabá Airport (CGB) to the small airstrip at Porto Jofre.

From there it’s a motorboat ride of typically around 40 minutes up the river to wherever SouthWild Jaguar Lodge happens to be moored at the time of your visit. There are good chances of wildlife sightings along the way.

the centrepiece of a safari in Pantanal