Lagoa Misteriosa Sinkhole Snorkeling and Diving

Lagoa Misteriosa is a sinkhole full of blue water, with a measured depth of over 220 meters and a bottom still unknown, in the municipality of Jardim, on the same property as Rio da Prata. The activity is short and different from the river snorkels: instead of drifting with a current, you float in place over a vertical shaft, watching the limestone walls disappear into the blue. You can do it with a snorkel or with scuba gear. It is 45 km from Bonito and only operates from April to October.

What the tour is like

Reception is inside the Recanto Ecológico Rio da Prata reserve. The group is tiny, two people per guide, which tells you something about the pace. After the briefing and getting into wetsuit, vest and mask, access is down a staircase of about 185 steps to a platform at the edge of the lagoon.

In the water, it feels like hovering over an abyss. Visibility in the dry season exceeds 30 meters, and the guide leads the pair along the walls, pointing out the formations and submerged tree trunks. There are no fish to speak of and no plants: the interest is the depth and the blue. The snorkel lasts about 30 minutes, and you return up the same stairs. From arrival to departure, allow about 2 hours.

For certified divers, the reserve offers scuba dives to about 20 meters (beginners do a discovery dive with an instructor). Deeper technical dives are arranged separately and are not covered on this page.

Rules

The rules of every body of water in the region apply, with extra rigor because this is a closed system: no sunscreen or insect repellent on your skin before the activity, mandatory vest for the snorkel, no touching the formations. There is a minimum age plus maximum age and weight limits tied to the equipment, and the tour is not recommended for pregnant women or people with heart or respiratory conditions. The staircase rules it out for anyone with reduced mobility.

Best season

Here the season is not a preference, it is a condition. Between November and March, with the heat and rain, microalgae bloom on the surface and visibility drops to a few meters; so the attraction closes for that period. The “blue season” runs from April to October, with the best visibility between June and September. See the full calendar in our article on the best time 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, and runs from the snorkel (the lowest) to the scuba dive. Transport and Jardim’s environmental fee are charged separately. Tickets are bought through a licensed agency at the same price everywhere, under Bonito’s single-voucher system. The lagoon is almost always sold as a package with Rio da Prata, and that is how it makes sense.

Lagoa Misteriosa or Anhumas Abyss?

The two tours explore the same idea, blue water in a limestone formation, and the comparison comes up often. The Anhumas Abyss is an enclosed cave, with a 72-meter rappel, a test the day before and the highest price in Bonito. The lagoon is open-air, reached by stairs, and priced like a normal river snorkel. If you want the adventure and can pay for it, go to the Abyss; if you want the sense of depth without the rappel and at the cost of an ordinary tour, the lagoon is for you.

Is it worth it?

Yes, as part of the Jardim day and within the right season. It is a setting that has no equal in Bonito, and the experience of floating over a bottomless shaft is worth the 30 minutes. It is not worth it as a stand-alone tour, because of the distance, or outside the season. Pair it with Rio da Prata in the morning and, if time allows, Buraco das Araras in the late afternoon. Compare with the other options in our hubs on snorkeling in Bonito and scuba diving in Bonito.