Our visit to the Vale das Taquaras Lodge.

     We arrived at the international airport of Galeao in Rio de Janeiro on a hot, humid day in late July. Yet within 3 hours or so, my wife Gail and I had arrived at the Vale das Taquera Lodge in the heart of the Atlantic rainforest. We were greeted by Dona Lila Ferrez, the owner of the Lodge and soon were sipping a rum cocktail or caipirinha on the verandah and watching fifteen species of humming bird darting around the tropical garden.
     After a delicious lunch, Dona Lila showed us around the main Lodge and the sauna nearby, with its stream-fed pool where the hardy can take a cold plunge. We learned that the Lodge has about 150 acres of pristine rainforest at an altitude of 1000 metres about an hour by unpaved road from the bustling spa town of Novo Friburgo. The Lodge can accommodate 13 guests, with 3 double rooms in the main house and two well-equipped bungalows in the garden. The food is excellent, with a hearty breakfast, a substantial Brazilian lunch and a light supper.

     The Lodge is an ideal base to experience the incredibly rich and diverse habitat of the highly endangered Atlantic rainforest ecosystem. There are X miles of cleared trails that are ideal for birdwatchers and walkers. Visits can also be arranged with other hotels at lower altitudes so that guests can appreciate the range of this diverse ecology. The list of species sighted at the Lodge reaches almost 200 and, although we arrived before the main breeding season, we saw tanagers, manakins, the Long- trained Nightjar and heard the unforgettable call of the Bare-throated Bellbird.
     Visitors the previous season, which included Nick Athanas of Tropical Birding, had seen the Stygian Owl and Crowned Eagle on an excursion to sites outside the Lodge. We were entranced by the Vale das Taqueras, its forest trails, tropical gardens, tranquil atmosphere and the warm hospitality of Dona Lila Ferrez and her staff.
This unique Lodge offers a rare combination of restful living and exciting birding!

Gail and David Goodman, London, 2009.