Overview

Portuguese for “beautiful”, bonito is a gem hidden far from any major city and in Amazon basin. This place boasts some of the world ‘best’ eco-tourism in South America. When entering this small and relaxed town, it is not exactly clear what amazing natural sites exist all around this unassuming area.

Location

Highlights

Gruta do Lago Azul

Between the months of September and February the waters of Gruta do Lago Azul take on an intense blue color. The site is protected and only open to scientists. Fossil bones have been found of large mammals that inhabited the region for more than 12,000 years. Including giant sloths, armadillos and sabre-toothed tigers.

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Rio da Prata

Snorkeling in crystal clear waters! The tour down Rio da Prata follows strict sustainability guidelines, meaning the tour groups are small. Gently float down the river whilst enjoying the many fish below and the colorful birds and monkeys in the tree above.

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Mysterious Lake (Lagoa Misteriosa)

Lagoa Misteriosa, which translates as “Mysterious Lagoon”, is a lake at the bottom of a sinkhole, a type of geological formation common in limestone regions. This lake of transparent waters impresses visitors for its incredible depth. It is considered one of the deepest submerged caves in Brazil, with more than 220 meters of water column (maximum depth reached by professional cave diver Gilberto Menezes de Oliveira, in 1998), which explains why is called mysterious. Lagoa Misteriosa is a phreatic cave, that is, was formed by the flow of underground water that dissolved the limestone in its passage. These types of caves usually are flooded and do not have fragile mineral deposits, such as speleothems. The first dive at Lagoa Misteriosa was done in September 1992 by Augusto Auler, member of a French-Brazilian Expedition that came to Bonito on the same year. In 2008, a team of specialized divers mapped the cave until the depth of 70 meters. The Mysterious Lagoon was the first cave in Brazil to have a “Speleology Management Plan”, a document that comprehends the environmental diagnosis of the area and the guidelines for its conservation, approved by CECAV – the National Center for Research and Conservation of Caves in 2010.

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