The Trip of a Lifetime!

Imagine traveling on ten tumbling Amazon Rivers so remote that you never meet other travelers. Instead, you chance upon enchanted waterfalls. Lagoons, hidden deep in the emerald rainforests. Feel the eyes of the forest animals watching you.

The Big 5 Photo Safari of Southern Cross Tours & Expeditions

No elephants, no lions, but where else can you photograph jaguar, giant otter, tapir, great anteater, and… southern right whales, all of them, on one trip?

Brazil Highlights for Newcomers

A tour that takes you not only to the most famous highlights but also to some of the lesser known and hidden treasures of Brazil.

Ecotrópica

Ecotrópica – the Foundation Aid for Life in the Tropics – is a non-governmental organization without financial interests for the protection of the environment in the Tropics and was established in Cuiabá (Mato Grosso) in 1989. Our mission is to give a contribution to the conservation of the natural resources and to maintain the quality of life in the tropical ecosystems. In the last years, we concentrated on the protection of the Pantanal wetlands in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, motivated by our understanding of the vulnerability of this extraordinary ecosystem with it's fantastic biodiversity, being the habitat of the biggest wildlife concentration in the neo-tropics. In the mid-nineties we started one of our most important actions: the protection of the biodiversity in the National Park Pantanal Mato-Grossense.

We purchased the farms of Acurizal, Penha and Estância Dorochê – an area about 60,000 ha – and transformed them in RPPNs (Particular Nature Protection Areas). These areas are now associated with the National Park and happens to be one of the most important wetland protection zones of the planet and give living space, shelter and alimentation to many animal species, some of them elsewhere threatened by extinction.

www.ecotropica.org.br

Travel Brazil with Southern Cross Tours & Expeditions

When Southern Cross Tours & Expeditions took off 20 years ago, the idea was to offer tours and expeditions to the active and demanding traveler by penetrating regions in Brazil little known or unknown at all. We called these regions the hidden treasures of nature and culture in Brazil. The task was to discover such regions, making contacts with reliable locals, and then to develop some structures that would enable us to take travelers there and bringing them back safely.

To develop a series of new activities in a country of continental dimensions and in regions off the beaten track required experience, knowledge, perseverance and the will to invest in something new and challenging. Whether in small groups of 2 to 8 or as an individual traveler, our customers have the opportunity to reach out to the farthest und deepest spot in the Amazonian rainforest where the significance of the great German Naturalist Baron Alexander von Humboldt's “Hylaea “  becomes still evident. Detached from comfort and amenities of our modern life the focus there is exclusively on the essentials of the Tropical Rain Forest, its rivers and the natives living in it and from it.

We have also pioneered wildlife photo safaris in the Pantanal, among them our Jaguar Photo Safari. Our “Big 5” Safari, brings the 5 biggest land and sea mammals of South America before the camera of the happy photographers. On the savanna of the Nhecolândia region an extraordinary variety of wildlife can be observed and photographed on board our 4 wheel drive vehicles like on a silver plate.

One of our specials is the Ocean kayak island to island hike combined with rainforest trekking in the Atlantic Costal Rain Forest. Dream beaches, picturesque landscapes and settlements, natives of the Guarani Mbya tribes living amidst, lush rainforest, colonial sea-side architecture in Paraty are some of the highlights of that tour.
When Riding Brazil was created as a branch of Southern Cross Tours&Expeditions it was designed to cater exclusively to riders wanting to roam the savannas of the Pantanal and subtropical mountains of Southern Brazil. Those rides offer extraordinary experiences with fine horses, great landscapes and contact with locals from the countryside, their traditions and culture. Finally we don’t miss out on world-renowned highlights like Rio de Janeiros Sugar Loaf and Christ Redeemer Statue on Corcovado Mountain. We also walk on cobble stoned alleys downtown Rio de Janeiro to marvel at the contrast of ultra-modern architecture and colonial reminiscences. One of the most spectacular natural highlights in Brazil is the Iguaçu Falls. When looking from the boardwalks down into the thunderous water crushing down the rocks it just takes your breath away.

Southern Cross Tours&Expeditions offers breath taking experiences and adventures in Brazil. After you have arrived safely home you will be able to tell stories from the inside, exceeding and creating new expectations.

Peter Rohmer