Bahia Negra and the Pantanal

Bahía Negra is the northernmost settlement on the Paraguayan side of the Río Paraguay, a village of a few thousand at the point where Paraguay, Brazil and Bolivia meet, and it is the access point for the Paraguayan portion of the Pantanal, the great seasonal wetland shared with Brazil and Bolivia. The wetland here is less visited and less developed than the Brazilian side: marsh, lagoons, gallery forest and flooded grassland with jaguars, giant otters, marsh deer, caimans, capybaras and a very large bird list. The Rio Negro national park and private reserves protect part of it. Access is by riverboat from Concepcion, a journey of several days, or by light aircraft.

What you actually see

• The Pantanal wetland - the marsh, lagoons and flooded grassland.
• Giant otters and caimans - the water mammals and reptiles.
• The bird list - the storks, herons and waterfowl of the wetland.
• The riverboat journey - the several-day run up the Rio Paraguay.

When to go

May to September in the dry season, when water recedes, animals concentrate and access is easiest; the wet season floods the wetland and makes land movement impossible. Riverboats run to their own schedule.

Honest expectations

Access is genuinely difficult: a multi-day riverboat or a charter flight, both irregular. Accommodation is basic lodges and village arrangements. There is no infrastructure. Mosquitoes and heat are severe. Costs for organised trips are high.

Nearby

Fuerte Olimpo lies south down the river; the Brazilian Pantanal is east.