South America · Brazil
Bonito
Abseil 72 m into a cave lake to dive among submerged cones at Abismo Anhumas
Photo: Edmilson sanches · CC BY-SA 3.0
Bonito sits on a limestone plateau in Mato Grosso do Sul where rainwater filters through rock and emerges as spring-fed rivers of extraordinary clarity. Most of the activity is float-snorkelling the Rio da Prata and Rio Sucuri among shoals of dourado, piraputanga and curimba, but two sites are true scuba dives: Abismo Anhumas, a cave lake reached by a 72 m abseil through a hole in the ground, and Lagoa Misteriosa, a sinkhole whose bottom has never been found above 220 m.
About diving in Bonito
Bonito is not a place you improvise. Each attraction sits on private land with a fixed daily quota, and access is sold as timed vouchers through the town's agencies, so a trip is assembled slot by slot well before you arrive: something at nine, lunch at the fazenda, something else after two. Guides are compulsory and group sizes capped, which keeps sites from feeling crowded but makes a washed-out day hard to reshuffle once the week is booked.
Both of the scuba options are odd ones. Abismo Anhumas begins with a practice descent on a rig in town the afternoon before, then a rope drop through a hole in the ground into a chamber where you kit up on a floating deck; the exit is hauling yourself back up the same rope, which asks more of you than the dive does. Lagoa Misteriosa is the opposite in character, a walk down a trail to still water, with a firm recreational ceiling and cave-trained teams working below it.
The river floats are why most people come, and they are snorkelling in the plainest sense: you step in from a bank, drift at walking pace and keep your hands to yourself, some operations without fins so nobody stirs the bottom. The clarity is usually explained by dissolved limestone binding fine sediment and dropping it out of the water column, and the springs stay cool enough that a wetsuit is standard even in high summer. It is an easy place to travel with non-divers, and a frustrating one if you came for tanks.
Best time to dive Bonito
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
| Daytime high | 39°C102°F | 37°C99°F | 37°C99°F | 35°C95°F | 33°C91°F | 32°C90°F | 34°C93°F | 38°C100°F | 40°C104°F | 41°C106°F | 40°C104°F | 39°C102°F |
| Rain | 134 mm5.3 in | 128 mm5.0 in | 105 mm4.1 in | 104 mm4.1 in | 84 mm3.3 in | 61 mm2.4 in | 27 mm1.1 in | 42 mm1.7 in | 62 mm2.4 in | 97 mm3.8 in | 100 mm3.9 in | 123 mm4.8 in |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 39°C102°F | 37°C99°F | 37°C99°F | 35°C95°F | 33°C91°F | 32°C90°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 134 mm5.3 in | 128 mm5.0 in | 105 mm4.1 in | 104 mm4.1 in | 84 mm3.3 in | 61 mm2.4 in |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 34°C93°F | 38°C100°F | 40°C104°F | 41°C106°F | 40°C104°F | 39°C102°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 27 mm1.1 in | 42 mm1.7 in | 62 mm2.4 in | 97 mm3.8 in | 100 mm3.9 in | 123 mm4.8 in |
2011–2025 averages. Daytime high and rain: NASA POWER.
The Apr–Sep dry season gives the most reliable clarity; heavy rain from Nov to Feb can cloud the rivers and close them for a day or two after storms.
Best months: April, May, June, July, August
Bonito water temperature and weather by month
Most rain falls from October to April, peaking at about 130 mm (5.1 in) in January; July and August are the driest. Daytime highs reach 41 °C (106 °F) in October and drop to 32 °C (90 °F) in June. The coldest water here is about 21 °C (70 °F), so pack a 5 mm suit.
Dive types & marine life
Shoals of freshwater fish hold in the springs and rivers all year, so the season changes clarity rather than numbers, and the Apr–Sep dry months show them at range. Anaconda and caiman live in the area but are a matter of luck on any one float. The cave lake and the sinkhole hold far less: there the interest is rock and water, not fish.
- Freshwater
- Cave & cavern
- Freshwater fish
Best dive sites in Bonito
A 72 m rope descent onto a lake 80 m deep
A sinkhole dived to 220 m without anyone finding the bottom
An intensely blue limestone spring, seven metres at its deepest
Rio da Prata
Float-snorkel down a spring-fed river through shoals of piraputanga.
Rio Sucuri
Clearest of the local rivers, drifting 1.8 km from its spring source.
How to get to Bonito
Most arrive via Campo Grande and drive around four hours to Bonito town, where the agencies and hotels sit; the local airport takes only a handful of flights. Lagoa Misteriosa and Rio da Prata lie over towards Jardim, a further drive out. Every site is on private property and must be booked as a timed voucher, and walk-ups often find the day already sold.
Photos from Bonito
Edmilson sanches · CC BY-SA 3.0
Lauro Sirgado · CC BY-SA 3.0
Lauro Sirgado · CC BY-SA 3.0
Dive videos
Mergulho no Abismo Anhumas, Bonito, MS · josilenesra on YouTube
The Abyss : Diving the Abismo Anhumas, Bonito, Brazil · Trevor Coombs on YouTube
Photo credits
- A shaft of sunlight pierces the cave roof and lights the turquoise lake inside Abismo Anhumas by Edmilson sanches, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Visitors stand beside a deep blue karst lake inside a limestone cave near Bonito by Edmilson sanches, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A tiered limestone waterfall cascades into a river pool in the Bonito countryside by Lauro Sirgado, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A swimmer dives into a clear green spring-fed lake at an ecotourism farm near Bonito by Lauro Sirgado, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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