Buraco das Araras Macaw Sinkhole

Buraco das Araras (“Macaw Hole”) is a sinkhole, a hole in the ground created when the roof of a sandstone cave collapsed, about 100 meters deep and half a kilometer around. What makes the place worth visiting is not the geology but the red-and-green macaws that nest in cracks in the rock walls. From the lookout, dozens of them cross the void screeching, and at the bottom a greenish lagoon shelters caimans. It is in Jardim, 53 km from Bonito, a few minutes from Rio da Prata.

What the tour is like

The tour is short and simple: a trail of about 1 km on almost flat ground, with the guide stopping to explain how the sinkhole formed, the cerrado savanna vegetation and the birds’ behavior. There are two railed lookouts, one with a view into the hole and down to the lagoon at the bottom. That is where you spend most of your time, watching the macaws come and go from their nests.

Besides the red-and-green macaws, you will commonly see parakeets, toucans, king vultures and hawks, and the guide usually points out the caimans in the lagoon. Binoculars help a lot: the birds are tens of meters away and, to the naked eye, turn into colored dots.

The whole visit takes 1 to 1.5 hours. There is no water and no strenuous walking, and part of the route is adapted for wheelchairs. It is the easiest tour in the Jardim area and one of the few where small children and older people take part without restriction.

Best time of day and season

Timing matters more here than on any other Bonito tour. The macaws leave the nests just after dawn and return in the late afternoon; in between, many are away feeding and the sinkhole goes quiet. The 8am departures and the last ones of the day (around 4pm) are the best. In the middle of the day, besides fewer birds, the heat in the cerrado is intense.

As for season, the second half of the year (July to November) coincides with the breeding period and more activity at the nests. The tour runs year-round and is not affected by rain, which makes it a good wildcard for days when the rivers are murky. Read more about when to visit Bonito.

Price

The reference price, in Brazilian reais (BRL), is in the info box on this page with the date it was checked. Small children do not pay, and the municipality of Jardim charges an environmental fee per day of visit, added to the voucher. Transport is quoted separately. As with every attraction in the region, tickets are bought through a licensed agency under Bonito’s single-voucher system.

How to fit it into your trip

On its own, Buraco das Araras does not justify the 106 km round trip. It makes sense as part of the “Jardim day”: Rio da Prata in the morning, lunch at the Recanto reserve and Buraco das Araras in the late afternoon, timed for the birds’ return. Another combination is with Lagoa Misteriosa, on the same property as Rio da Prata. Agencies sell these full-day packages with transport, and that is how it appears in the 4-day itinerary.

Is it worth it?

Yes, when paired with another Jardim tour, and especially yes for families with children, older travelers or anyone who likes birds. It is cheap by Bonito standards, easy and unlike anything else in town, where everything revolves around water. It is not worth a dedicated trip, and it disappoints anyone who arrives at noon expecting a hole full of macaws. If you like this kind of thing, the Blue Lake Cave is the region’s other great geological formation and fits on another day. See more options in things to do in Bonito.