Arvoredo Marine Reserve · Brazil · Reef · Cave & cavern
Recanto do Capim
Rock passages on the bottom and a cave that opens to the surface
Photo: Matheus Hobold Sovernigo · CC BY-SA 4.0
Recanto do Capim lies roughly 250 metres along the shore from Saco do Capim, on the part of Ilha do Arvoredo where diving is still permitted. It is shallow and sheltered, stones and sand from 5 to 12 metres, and what separates it from its neighbour is the structure: passages run between the boulders on the bottom, and a cave gives access to the surface.
Where it is and how deep
27.2842° S, 48.3714° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The whole site sits between 5 and 12 metres on a bottom of stones and sand, and it is sheltered enough that the directory entry calls it very quiet. The dive is spent among the boulders rather than over them: many passages run between the rocks on the bottom, so the route is a slow lap through the structure. Depth is never the constraint, which makes for a long dive if the surface conditions allow one.
One cave here gives access to the surface, which is worth knowing before you follow it in. Nothing has been published about how long it is, or whether there is breathable air space where it opens, so confirm both with the crew and keep the entrance in sight if you carry no overhead training. The same applies to the narrower passages between the boulders.
Diving on this coast is by boat and confined to the part of Ilha do Arvoredo outside the reserve: the Reserva Biológica Marinha do Arvoredo was closed to recreational diving in 2000 under Brazil's SNUC protected-areas law, and operators have worked to the south of it ever since. Recanto do Capim sits about 250 metres from Saco do Capim, and only the directory's separate entries and coordinates distinguish the two, so check which of them the boat is actually on.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime |
Season follows Arvoredo Marine Reserve: Dec–Mar brings the warmest, clearest water and the calmest crossings; winter southerlies frequently cancel boats and drop the temperature to 16°C.
Know before you go
- The cave gives access to the surface, which invites divers in; its length is not published, so stay within sight of the entrance unless you hold overhead training and have been briefed on it.
Photos from Recanto do Capim
Leonardo Manuel Baez Schuh · CC BY-SA 4.0
Questions divers ask
How deep is Recanto do Capim?+
The site runs from 5 to 12 metres over stones and sand, shallow enough that depth is rarely what ends the dive.
What is the difference from Saco do Capim?+
The two sit about 250 metres apart on the same shore and share the same 5 to 12 metre profile. Recanto do Capim is the one with passages running between the bottom boulders and a cave that gives access to the surface.
Sources
- Recanto do Capim dive site — Scubago / SSI MyDiveGuide
- Reserva Biológica Marinha do Arvoredo — Wikipédia (PT)
Photo credits
- Aerial view of a rocky cove with clear turquoise water below a forested hillside in the Arvoredo marine reserve. by Matheus Hobold Sovernigo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A smoothtail spiny lobster with long banded antennae resting in a rocky crevice underwater in Brazil. by Leonardo Manuel Baez Schuh, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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