Getting there
Refúgio Ecológico Caiman is located in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, 147 miles from the capital city of Campo Grande and 23 miles from the city of Miranda. Therefore, to arrive in Caiman, the first destination is the capital city. From there, our visitors continue the trip in one of the transportation options we offer: road or air

Access:
If you are planning on driving yourself from Campo Grande, you should take the highway BR-262, in the direction of Campo Grande-Corumbá. At the Miranda Interchange, there is a restaurant called “Zero Hora”. At this interchange, turn right; onto the asphalted stretch that heads towards the city of Agachi. At this point, there are signs indicating Hotel Caiman. A few meters further turn left, onto a dirt road. After this turn, you have another 36 kilometers to the REC (Refúgio Ecológico Caiman). On this last stretch, you will pass the entrances to the farms “Santa Delfina” and “Novo Horizonte” and the arrows to the farm, “Nova Miranda”. You will pass a house with an entrance that reads “Estância Caiman”. Keep going straight towards the entrance “Mutum”, which leads to the REC. Go over “Ponte do Paizinho” and thru a small village. At the end of the village is the Pousada Sede (Main Lodge)..

Transportation:
If you are arriving at the airport in Campo Grande and would like a ride to the Refúgio Ecológico Caiman (or visa-versa), regular vans with air conditioning are offered on Wednesday, Thursdays and Sundays. Upon arrival to the ranch, they leave from the airport at 12:30 and 5:00 o'clock. On departure from the ranch, they leave the REC at 9:30 and 12:30 o'clock. The trip takes about four hours with a 20-minute stop, and is not included in the price of the hotel stay.
Note: For security reasons, we do not recommend this trip at night.

Meals
Caiman offers a varied menu that includes local and international food. Salads, pastas, meat and fish are served daily and are exquisitely prepared by cooks from the region. For dessert, besides those especially prepared, there are homemade sweets that are a real treat.

Length of stay
To fully enjoy the tour program, at least a 2 nights stay is recommended, checking in on the first day before the afternoon tour, and checking out on the third day after the morning tour. We suggest that those who have a little more time follow the programmed itinerary of at least 7 nights. During this period, guests stay in different lodges, 3 nights in one lodge and 4 nights in another.

What is the best season to visit the Pantanal?
This is a common question for someone considering going to the Pantanal. The contrast of the seasons (see below for detail) makes it attractive the whole year. Normally, mammals can be observed in the dry period (from June to September), when the animals have to come out to look for food and can easily be observed during the outings. At this time the temperature is agreeable, which makes the tours very pleasant. During the full season (from December to March), the Pantanal is completely flooded, making the landscape even more lively. This is the best time to observe birds, especially migratory ones. Although transportation becomes more difficult in most areas, road access is possible throughout the year.

In the full season, the temperature is higher, especially in the months of December and January. To take full advantage of your visit to the Pantanal, choose the season that matches your interests the best. We suggest, if possible, that you make two visits to the Pantanal, one in the dry season and another in the full season. This is the only way possible to see the contrasts between the seasons and widen your vision about this magic place that marvels and enchants even the most demanding visitors.

Times to avoid
The following are Brazilian public holidays and you are advised to avoid these dates:-

	Carnaval	February 21-25
	Easter	varies each year
	Corpus Christi	June 10-13
	Independence	September 1-9
	Dia Das Criancas	October 9-12
	Finados	October 30 - November 2
	Republica	November 13-15

What to bring?
Rainy season: Sport clothes, two pairs of shoes (tennis shoes, boots or hiking shoes), jeans, light long sleeve shirts, swimminmg costume, insect repellent, light raincoat.

Dry season: To the above add a windbreak jacket and pullovers as temperature can drop drastically in addition to windchill effect.

Others: hat, rolls of film, flashlight, binoculars, sun cream, sunglasses and chapstick.

Guides
The "Caimaners" are the bilingual guides with college degree and knowledge on the local fauna and flora. They lead the excursions and explain the different habitats. Native guides also accompany guests along with the Caimaners on the tours, as they have in-depth knowledge of the local area.

Seasons in the Pantanal
The landscape of the Pantanal changes radically throughout the year due to the geographic and climatic characteristics. The fauna also changes, staying or migrating according to the existing conditions for shelter, nests or food. There are two seasons in the Pantanal: the wet season and the dry season. Between the seasons it is common to say that the Pantanal is filling up or drying. Generally, the seasons are well defined: the dry season goes from April to September, and the wet season from October to March. Global changes in climate also affect the cycles in the Pantanal and there is now an alteration in the length or intensity of the seasons. In spite of these variations, the general characteristics of each season remain constant.

Wet season
In the wet season, with the rising of the waters that cover the fields, fish, clams and crustaceans come out of the bays and the river banks to the plains in search of food and places to reproduce. Soon after, many types of aquatic life come to the flooded fields, and end up becoming rich sources of food. This phenomenon attracts a large population of aquatic birds, a marvelous spectacle when they gather in feeding places or when they fly off in bands to their nests, filling the Pantanal with sound and movement at this time of the year. Aquatic mammals widen their domains, looking for food or mating partners. Land mammals migrate to high land, many times out of the Pantanal.

The great concentration of alligators disappears and reptiles spread out to where there is water. The biggest problems about visiting the Pantanal at this time are the rain and the insects. Rains come at the end of the day in beautiful summer storms, fast and strong. In the early morning the sky is clear and clouds form throughout the day. It is not rare for rainbows to show up in the late afternoon to enhance the already colorful sunsets. It rarely rains for days at a time. Insects, another source of food that attracts the birds, multiply because of the heat and presence of water. The mosquitoes are more numerous at the beginning and end of the wet season, when the water stops running and permits reproduction. At night the sky is clear and full of stars. On nights without a moon, the fireflies give a beautiful show accompanied by the sounds of the tree frogs and frogs, which also benefit from the rise of the waters and the insects that they feed on. At the beginning of the season it is very hot. Rapidly, the vegetation in the fields becomes more and more lush. Species that were buried in the soil, waiting for the water to rise, point their stems, leaves and flowers toward the surface. The muddy fields are transformed into vast gardens. The brush becomes dense and rich with foliage and is a good shelter for mammals and birds. The most famous and most characteristic scenes of the Pantanal, as seen in pictures and movies, are taken during the wet season.

Dry season
If the full season in the Pantanal is the domain of birds, the dry season is the time for the mammals, easier seen since the vegetation has lost its leaves. Some species of plants bloom during this season and give an impressive show of colors. However, the blossoming is short lived.

Smaller birds replace the large aquatic birds and only a few remain to reproduce, like the wood ibis, which makes its nest at this time. At times, butterflies populate the Pantanal and are found in the millions. At other times, almost none can be seen. The fields, clean and dry, facilitate their movement all over the Pantanal. In the dry season, the fields are free of water and the plants that had taken over the muddy plains now start to dry and are reduced to a kind of “hibernation,” waiting for the next rains. The water-filled garden is transformed into a vast field of native grass and hay. Little flowers cover the soil.

While the fields dry, the fish, crustaceans, and clams migrate to the rivers and great bays, where the water stays during the dry season. Those that don’t find a way to return, and get stuck in the small lakes, will be easy prey and will die. It is incredible how many fish become prisoners in these small ponds and how long they serve as a source of food. While the bigger fish are easier targets, the small ones, more difficult to catch, will keep on growing and will become prey later. Conditions then become more favorable for the mammals, which start to invade the Pantanal. Their food is in the fields and buried in the soil.