Activities
We invite you to immerse yourself in this adventure. Come and join the Barranco Alto family!
Throughout your stay with us, you will be able to discover nature in a variety of ways. Whether you are walking, riding a horse, exploring the river by boat or by canoe, or on a jeep safari, each activity provides a new and unforgettable experience. Every day, the Barranco Alto “family” lives and learns from nature in all of its splendour. You will have the opportunity to go on two daily tours, guided by our experienced team of naturalists and biologists.
In this rare place on Earth, where nature still feels more powerful than us, human beings, we recognize and appreciate how privileged we are. We want to share with you our knowledge and our admiration for the fauna and the flora here. We want you to be dazzled by the beauty of the sunrises and the sunsets, to contemplate, and to live new experiences with us…
Walking / Hiking
By walking quietly, it is possible to get to within just a few metres of certain animals. The Barranco Alto team loves the challenge of approaching animals without disturbing them. In this way, we can observe the natural behaviour of the fauna in its environment.
We also encourage you to explore this wilderness unaccompanied, between the meals and the tours, so that your connection with the nature here can become even more intense and unforgettable.
Boating and Canoeing
Come and explore the Rio Negro. Get to know its white beaches, where caimans warm themselves up in the sun. Meet the neotropical otters and the giant otters which inhabit its intricate twists and turns. Five different species of kingfishers patrol its margins. Chaco chachalacas scream in duets to draw attention to themselves.
The lack of other boats on this river makes for a unique and private experience. Bathing in the river’s dark waters provides an immediate relief from the heat.
The Barranco Alto Farm has more than 15km of pristine, riparian forest reserve.
During our silent canoe trips downriver, which start at dawn, we encounter parrots flying, toucans drinking water, riverbanks covered in holes where rufous-tailed jacamars, swallows and tegus live, capybara families calmly grazing, howler monkeys carrying their infants from branch to branch, and huge groups of white-lipped peccaries hurriedly swimming across the river. As the saying goes, “behind every white-lipped peccary there is a jaguar approaching.”
Car rides / Game drive
The Barranco Alto Farm has an incredible diversity of landscapes and habitats throughout its nearly 11,000 hectares, which can be appreciated (in small groups) in an open safari vehicle.
We finish the day with a sundowner to contemplate the sunset and to make a toast to this magnificent natural environment. Returning to the lodge in the dark, we reveal some mysteries and behaviours of the nocturnal fauna.
Horse-back riding and Cattle management/work
The best companion of the locals (known as Pantaneiros) is the horse, faithful helper with the daily cattle work. The fast gait of this athletic animal makes it possible to move through forests (known as capões) and fields which might be inaccessible to vehicles.
Together, the horse and the horserider blend perfectly into their natural environment, providing excellent wildlife-viewing opportunities. Upon request, we can organize for guests to accompany the cowboys in their daily work of rounding up the cattle and using their traditional equipment (lasso, blowing horn).
Bird Watching
From the charming hyacinth macaws to the mysterious blue-crowned motmots hidden in the forest, when it comes to birds, the biodiversity of the Pantanal breaks records.
At The Barranco Alto Farm, more than 400 different bird species have been seen. The extraordinary variety of microhabitats here (salina, baía, campo aberto, campo sujo, riparian forest and others) provides feeding opportunities and nesting sites for innumerable species.
Between July and October, migratory birds join the long list of species, even if they are here for just a short while.
Nature Photography
This incredible diversity of microhabitats found at The Barranco Alto Farm translates into exceptionally beautiful and varied landscapes and fauna. Microhabitats (include photographs of a few):
- Baía = freshwater lake, generally with aquatic plants
- Salina = brackish water lake, without plants, but with colourful algae
- Corixo = narrow arm of the river
- Rio Negro = water darkened by the tannin of the surrounding plants; similar to black tea, the water of the river soaks the plants during the flooded season, and then darkens because of the organic substances which detach themselves from the bark and the leaves of the plants.
- Capões = “islands” of forest which stay dry during the flooded season.
- Cordilheiras = long stretches of high forest (on higher ground – dry throughout the year)
- Campo aberto = generally areas which are periodically underwater, making it impossible for forests and bushes to grow.
- Vazante = an arm of the river which fills with water during the flooded season and then completely dries up during the dry season.
- Campo cerrado = areas covered with shrubby vegetation.
Fishing
The most common fish in the Rio Negro is without doubt the piranha. Here, you can fish for piranhas, dourados, pintados and cacharas. We practise catch-and-release fishing, and for those who bring their own equipment, it is also possible to fly fish.
The Barranco Alto Farm respects the laws regarding Piracema (the period of the year when fishing is forbidden on rivers because of fish reproduction). Thus fishing is allowed at the lodge between March and October. For more details, please contact the reservations department.
Families / Children
The lodge offers amazing adventures for kids between the ages of 6 and 14 years old, who are interested in nature, and who enjoy outdoor activities.
Horseback riding, fishing, swimming in the dark waters of the Rio Negro, or identifying the owners of the paw prints left in the sand, are just a few of the fun activities here.
Children between the ages of 0 and 5 years old: we do not recommend that you visit the lodge when your children are at this age, because they will be restricted to a limited number of activities.
Relaxing
Come disconnect from your daily life, and relax in this very remote and special place. Change your ringtone to the calls of an endless array of birds, the frenzied engine-like croaking of the frogs, and the cicadas’ piercing calls.
Relax in a hammock underneath the big mango tree, or on a beach beside the river. Meditate or read a book. But never forget to open your eyes so that you don’t miss out on the amazing spectacle which the nature around you always provides!
