“Just wanted to let you know we are back from our Brazil trip and had a great time! We loved the Pousada Aguape trip and our guide Stephan was terrific. Thanks for your help planning the trip. It was great!”
— Cary Schneider, USABarra Mansa Lodge
A simple but fascinating family-run lodge, Barra Mansa, offers a very personalized service with fully private trips to explore the one-of-a-kind flora and fauna in the Pantanal.
About Barra Mansa Lodge
Strategically located where the waters of Vazante do Castelo meet the Negro river, 225km from Campo Grande in a prosperous area in the Pantanal is the Barra Mansa Lodge. In the 40s, the pousada was created as a cattle-breeding ranch. Mr. Guilherme Rondon, the grandson of the original settler and one of the main voices that fought for the conservation of the Pantanal, decided in 1996 to start and manage an eco-tourism project in his grandfather's ranch. Barra Mansa’s objective is to gather photographers, lovers of environmental tourism, sport fishermen, and birdwatchers to contemplate nature on the perspective of a typical farm in the Pantanal.
The main access to the lodge is by air, from Campo Grande and Aquidauana, both in Mato Grosso do Sul. Nevertheless, during the dry season (July-November) it is possible to get to the lodge with a 4x4 vehicle after consulting about traffic conditions and to follow a local guide.
The lodge has a maximum capacity of 16 guests, providing high quality service, privacy and comfort. The lodge counts with apartments for two, three and up to four persons with private bathrooms with hot water, screened windows, and air conditioning.
The traditional food is prepared in the wood stove and served at the restaurant. The kitchen may provide specific menus for the guests (vegan, vegetarian, and others) if requested in the booking form. In addition to the lodge facilities are outside hammock area, broadband internet access, laundry service, several books about the Pantanal, screened veranda, satellite TV, broadband internet access, telephone, private landing strip, souvenirs shop, bar and fishing equipment for rent.
Barra Mansa offers a variety of activities like:
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Canoeing
A trip on a Canadian canoe is the perfect way to get in contact with the Pantanal waters while being surrounded by nature. These Canadian canoes don’t require you to have any previous experience; the canoe fits 3 persons, the driving is easy and people of different ages can be aboard. When canoeing at sunrise, the wildlife is even more mesmerizing. Canoeing can be done in Vazante do Castelo in its clear waters when the water from the wetlands begins to retreat. This is the perfect invitation to experience relaxing baths, observe fish and aquatic plants, and also canoe with caimans and stingrays swimming calmly under the canoes.
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Horse riding
Barra Mansa Lodge is the ideal place to ride a horse for the first time. Besides experiencing activities like cattle management, you will also experience horse-breeding techniques and peaceful horse rides through savannahs, fields, forests, bays and salt-water lakes where you can also observe birds and other animals. Our well trained horses and a comfortable saddle will make your ride on the wetlands called “arreios” the perfect outing for people of all ages. Barra Mansa has arranged touring options that reinforces contact with the horses and the cowboy lifestyle. For an even more intensive experience, you can request a longer journey and spent overnight in a camp built for the tour. Just let us know that you will take this option, so we can prepare everything.
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Boat trips
The opportunity to observe Rio Negro’s unspoiled nature on its banks can be accomplished on our silent electric motor boats. During your trip an Rio Negro, it will just be you and nature since there are no villages on its banks making Rio Negro to be considered the best part of Pantanal. Several wild animals benefit from this region for being so remote. Beside the riverbanks and beaches the perfect place to rest awaits you. Everyday you can decide to either explore the lakes hiding in the woods around, or visit a different curve of the river. While you bathe or relax on the river or one of the beaches, a family of otters can come and choose to bathe in the same place as you do, a kingfisher may catch something for lunch, or you can presence the hyacinth macaws display their feathers in a graceful dance.
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Safari drives
Specifically customized for outdoor drives in the Pantanal, our 4x4 vehicle will take you to observe the majestic flora and fauna with complete comfort. This vehicle provides access to areas that complex to access by foot or by horse, it is also the perfect way to explore around the Pantanal if you travel with kids. The sunrise is a scenery that can be seen from different points of the farm during the tour. Barra Mansa Lodge provides detailed guiding services for professional photographers and advanced amateurs. This tours are suggested according to the best time of the day and to the guests interests.
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Hiking
With specialised guides to accompany you, hiking takes place in the woods and the surrounding area of the farm with Pantanal’s typical vegetation: woods ‘capões’ ridges ‘cordilleras’, flood plains and savannah that is the home of many animals and plants of the region. The hike’s strong point is bird-watching, everyday a wide variety of different species come to Barra Mansa. Besides the variety of birds that can be seen at the Pantanal, hiking is the perfect opportunity to see coatis, peccaries, capybaras, dee, and anteaters. Fitting for a variety of ages and abilities, the ranch counts with different trails that vary in distance.
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Sport Fishing
The Negro River is protected by a special legislation which prohibits sport fishing, but it does permits fish to be caught and then released. The Negro River is shelter to catfishes, piaus, dourados, piraputangas, pacus and more species. The 16 feet long boats equipped for fishing are fitted with electric trolling motors, 15 HP motors and guides, who know each curve of the river , who will take you to the perfect place for a remarkable experience with the fish of the Pantanal. There is a maximum of five boats at the same time in the river, these guarantees exclusive fishing spots for our guests.
Location in map
