We spent one week at Pantanal and we had the idea of staying in 3 or 4 different lodges, but as we knew Curicaca, we stayed there 6 of our 7 days.

There are many reasons that have contributed for us to feel so comfortable at Curicaca. First of all, it is owned by a Spanish family who has made us feeling as at home, with all their details and attentions. Second point, the accommodation (rooms, restaurant, swimming pool, etc.) is excellent, very new and modern, comparable in quality to any high level eco-lodge in Spain. Certainly, it stands out from the rest of lodges in the area. The third reason, maybe the most important one, is the astonishing area where it is located. From the Transpantaneira road, there are 3 Km to the lodge, along a path next to a channel where birds and caimans dispute its shores. Reaching the lodge, the landscape changes: huge trees and vegetation surround the cottages, which are perfectly integrated with the nature around. The owners have, above all, preserved the native area the same as it was originally, which makes birds, mammals and rest of wildlife being watched easily with no need to move around so much. During the week we stayed there, the following mammals were watched: puma (we didn’t have that luck!), tapir, great and small anteaters, coati or aguti, together with many reptiles and not frecuent bird species like the Blue-crowned Trogon (Trogon curucui), the Blue-crowned Motmot (Momotus momota) or the endangered Chestnut-bellied Guan (Penelope ochrogaster). *I attach the complete bird list, with my 140 watched species. During the canoe river-trips it is possible to watch the giant otters (we did have that luck!).

Definitively, Curicaca is a necessary visit for those who go to Pantanal and, of course, where we are looking forward to return.

We only had two days at Curicaca Wildlife Refuge but we saw so many animals that this place will keep in our minds for ever. This place is a must for birders and at the moment still an insider’s tip for nature lover. The accommodation is excellent but you will not stay long at your room. Just walking around the hotel premises you see so many birds, it is just incredible. It was our first Lodge at Pantanal and we saw in this two days half of our bird list (200 bird species like macaw, potoo, toucan, herons, egrets, owls, hummingbirds (difficult ones..), woodpecker, woodcreeper, antshrike, tyrants and amazing close curassow, guans, nunbirds, pygmy kingfisher). There is a wonderful restaurant where you can watch the animals around. There are Agutis, Coatis and we were the most luckiest Paca watcher, spending the beginning of the night quite in the restaurant. Tell me one place of Pantanal, were you can see this shy, big, nocturnal and strange rodent?! The monkeys (howlers, capuchin, tamarin) are easy to see. You may not miss the amazing silent boat trip, you will be punted in the boat and hope you are as lucky as we were, we saw the tapir crossing the lake, we saw the neotropical and the giant otter playing around, popping out.