The Amazon is the largest rainforest on Earth, a vast wilderness roughly the size of the 48 contiguous United States. Remarkably, most of it still stands. More than three-quarters of the Amazon Basin remains forested, and over half of that standing forest is protected within parks, reserves, and well-defended indigenous territories.
For more than three decades, SouthWild biologists and naturalists have explored remote corners of the Amazon in search of its rarest and most spectacular wildlife. Collectively, our team brings over a century of field experience studying the ecology, behavior, and conservation of the rainforest’s most charismatic species.
This long-term commitment has allowed SouthWild to uncover wildlife opportunities that few people imagined existed.
One of our most important discoveries came in 2017, when Harpy Eagle biologist Dr. Everton Miranda introduced us to a vast region of the southern Amazon roughly the size of Pennsylvania. This landscape is traversed by tens of thousands of Brazil nut collectors who spend months each year combing the forest floor for the fallen Brazil nut pods but do not hunt wildlife. As a result, animals have spent decades observing these harmless nut collectors and thus have become extraordinarily remarkably tolerant of human presence.
The concentrations of rare animals found in this region are unlike anything previously documented in the Amazon.
Here, photographers and wildlife enthusiasts can encounter some of the rainforest’s most sought-after species, including:
- Harpy Eagles at active nest sites
- Brazilian Tapirs
- Scarlet, Blue-and-Gold, and Red-and-Green Macaws
- Gray Woolly Monkeys
- White-whiskered Spider Monkeys
- Red-handed Howler Monkeys
- The endangered White-nosed Bearded Saki, one of the rarest and most beautiful primates in the Amazon
These species are not only present: they are often observed under exceptionally-good conditions for viewing and photography.
In response to this extraordinary discovery, SouthWild developed a unique Southern Amazon itinerary specifically designed to showcase these wildlife treasures within a single expedition. Nowhere else in the Amazon can travelers reliably pursue such a remarkable collection of iconic species in one journey.
Even better, this wildlife-rich region is easily accessible via short daily flights from Cuiabá, the Jaguar Capital of the World. Comfortable, air-conditioned lodges and hotels provide ideal bases from which to explore one of the most exciting wildlife destinations ever discovered in the Amazon.
Our South Amazon Wildlife Blowout Tours represent what many naturalists and photographers consider the finest wildlife experience currently available in the Amazon Basin.
Let our specialists design a customized itinerary that combines extraordinary wildlife encounters, expert guiding, comfortable accommodations, and access to one of the greatest conservation success stories in the tropical world.
