We are a family-run, boutique safari lodge situated in the beautiful southern region of the Pantanal in Brazil.
Here you can still experience the preserved eco-system of the Pantanal with its unique wetlands.
Come join us at this most inimate of Pantanal eco-lodges, so that you can discover with us all of the amazing sights and sounds that this remote wilderness has to offer.
We pride ourselves on the intimate and caring service which we provide to our guests.
We go out of our way to make sure that our guests can experience this wildlife paradise in a variety of ways - whether drifting down the Rio Negro river by boat with one of our silent electric engines, horse-riding across our endless, emerald drainage field, or going on a safari drive adventure in an open-back jeep through forest and around lakes, you are sure to fall in love with the beauty of this ever changing and vibrant landscape, and all of the creatures which it supports. And you will no doubt learn a great deal from our very knowledgeable guides and trackers who will accompany you on each of your excursions.
This region of the Pantanal is a wonderful place for birdwatching and photography. Hyacinth macaws, though endangered, are frequently sighted here. Toco toucans light up the forests with their dazzling beaks. And Jabiru storks, famous symbols of the Pantanal, nest here in the dry season.
Mammals abound here too. Giant otters and neotropical otters cruise through the waters of the Rio Negro river. Tapirs rest cautiously in the shadows of the gallery forest. Giant anteaters amble inquisitively through the fields. Black howler monkeys munch lazily on the leaves of trees around the lodge. Even the shy cats (jaguars, pumas, ocelots and jaguarundis) pay us an occasional visit.
Embiara is also a small fazenda (cattle ranch). This practice is in keeping with the centuries-old, cattle farming traditions of this region, which exist in harmony with the wildlife of the Pantanal.
When you are back at the lodge, you will enjoy the diversity and quality of our traditional Brazilian and international cuisine, and you will look forward to retiring to the sanctity of your accomodation, which we have worked meticulously at making as comfortable, cosy and private as possible.
Dragonflies are great subjects for macro photography. But they can often be quite shy, which means approaching them is a challenge. Occasionally, though one can get lucky and find a dragonfly which is happy to be approached. On this occasion, I found one such dragonfly. It was perched on a twig beside our dining room, and as I got closer to it, it tilted its head and gave me a curious glance...
In late July, we were visited by Leigh and Mike Wilson, and Bobbie and Greg Hobbs from Colorado, USA. We had a wonderful time with the four of them at Embiara.
Recently, Greg sent me a beautiful poem which he wrote about their experiences at our lodge, and he attached some lovely photos to accompany the poem:
Embiara Pantanal
Land of wetland meadows,
Tapir and the Spoonbill
Ponds of River Otter fishing,
woodland Oncilla,
clacking Peccaries
Homeland of the spreading
and the shrinking Rio Negro
It’s morning!
OUugg OUugg OUugg!
whoop the Howlers
You ride Pantanal Ponies, 
duck-fitted sure footers
Crimson-throated Jabiru stand on sand islands, Caiman sharpening eyes
river drift the settling evening
You take a cross-country safari,
a Giant Anteater ambles her dinner
A gaggle of gathering snowy
Egrets congregates your glowing
sunset rapture.
Greg Hobbs (Embiara Lodge, Pantanal, Brazil, July 2011)
--------------------------------------------------
Besides poetry, this creative bunch also enjoyed
a sing and a dance (photo below).
Thanks for the memories :-)
Recently, we were out horseriding with some guests in the afternoon, and we caught sight of a 2.5 metre long yellow anaconda (Eunectus notaeus) slinking languidly over the grass. The anaconda was in a very large open field - no doubt it was searching for a swamp or marsh, as these are the preferred habitats of this snake. Anacondas are notoriously difficult to see as they spend most of their time hidden beneath aquatic vegetation. They are known to prey on a variety of different animals, including fish, birds, small caimans, lizards and small mammals. They will often use ambush to catch their prey, but are also known to use foraging strategies too...
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It is currently springtime at Embiara. During this time, we always see a lot of parent animals with their offspring. This is a good time for animals to rear their young as the rains have begun, and this brings with it lots of food opportunities. Here are just a few examples of animal offspring which we have encountered on our safari excursions.This first photo shows an adult jabiru stork (Jabiru mycteria) (left) standing beside a young jabiru stork (right). The jabiru stork on the right is still too young to fly. The reason why this young jabiru stork is already on the ground and is not still in its nest is because the canopy of the mandovi tree in which its nest was situated, was blown down during a powerful storm. There was another youngster in the nest who sadly did not survive the ordeal. This young jabiru stork is still very vulnerable as its not being able to fly makes it prone to predation from animals such as pumas (Puma concolor) and ocelots (Leopardus pardalus)...
Beside the lodge, we have a large, open field area. We always have a number of pampas deer (Ozotocerus bezoarticus) grazing here. At the moment, three of the female pampas deer here each have a fawn. This photo below shows one of these mother deer standing protectively beside her fawn...
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Tayras (Eira barbara) are a type of omnivorous mustelid. They eat a variety of different foods, including small mammals, birds and reptiles, carrion, or even eggs and honey. Tayras are difficult to see, and on the odd occasion when one is lucky enough to catch sight of one, it is normally just for an instant, as these shy and fast moving animals quickly disappear into the shadows of their forest home. On one occasion recently, we were lucky enough to watch an adult tayra and her youngster ambling down a forest road...
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The photo below shows the young tayra looking inquisitively at us. The parent tayra was a little bit nervous about our being there, so we decided to reverse back down the road to allow the two of them to continue their stroll in peace...
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Beside our guest suites, there stands a very large mandovi tree. Mandovi trees are extremely important in the Pantanal, as they are used by macaws for nesting. This mandovi tree beside our suites has a 25cm high hole on its trunk...
Over the years, we have watched numerous red and green macaw (Ara chloropterus) couples come to check out the suitability of this tree hole for nesting. Frustratingly however, none of these couples have ever decided to stay there. That is until this year when, much to our delight, a pair of red and green macaws decided to make the tree their home...
The hole was at first a little small for these macaws, so they worked at making it bigger by picking at it with their very large and powerful beaks...
Occasionally, another pair of red and green macaws arrives and challenges the resident macaws in an attempt to steal the hole away from them. But so far, this mating couple has managed to fend off these adversaries.
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