Bonito · Brazil · Cave & cavern · Freshwater
Lagoa Misteriosa
A sinkhole dived to 220 m without anyone finding the bottom
Photo: Rafael de Sant'Anna Cordeiro · CC BY-SA 4.0
Lagoa Misteriosa is a flooded cave on the same property as Recanto Ecologico Rio da Prata, and one of the deepest in Brazil: a 1998 dive reached 220 metres without the floor coming into view. Visibility runs past 50 metres, clear enough that divers at 40 metres can still make out the treetops around the rim.
Where it is and how deep
21.1272° S, 56.4825° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
This is still water in a hole in the ground, entered from the bank, and the character of the dive is clarity rather than movement. Visibility runs past 50 metres, so the walls are in view long before you reach them, and from 40 metres down you can still pick out the canopy of the trees standing around the rim. There is nothing to swim against here: what the site offers is rock, light and depth.
Operators run it at the level you hold. First-time divers are taken down as a supervised intro dive, and certified divers, basic or advanced, get a route matched to their certification. Below those routes the lagoon becomes cave-diving ground: the 220 metres reached here in 1998 did not bring the floor into sight, so the true bottom of the site is still an open question.
Background
The depth of the lagoon has never been established. In 1998 the diver Gilberto Menezes de Oliveira descended to 220 metres here and still could not see the floor, a dive that made the site one of the deepest known flooded caves in Brazil and left its true bottom unmeasured. Everything below the guided recreational routes remains the working ground of cave-trained teams rather than of visiting divers.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Bonito: 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.
Know before you go
- The lagoon goes far deeper than any recreational profile, and exceptional clarity makes depth easy to misjudge, so watch the gauge rather than the view.
Dive videos
Lagoa Misteriosa - Vídeo Oficial · Lagoa Misteriosa on YouTube
Over 700ft Deep Sinkhole in Brazil 😨🕳️💙 Lagoa Misteriosa ASMR (with voiceover) · Coralia Dives on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Lagoa Misteriosa?+
Nobody knows. A 1998 dive reached 220 metres without sighting the floor. Guided recreational dives stay far shallower, on a route matched to the certification you hold.
Can beginners dive Lagoa Misteriosa?+
Yes, as a supervised intro dive: the operator runs a batismo for visitors with no certification, while basic and advanced certified divers get a route matched to their level.
Sources
- Lagoa Misteriosa — Wikipedia (PT)
- Grupo Rio da Prata — Lagoa Misteriosa — Grupo Rio da Prata
Photo credits
- Diver in the blue water of Lagoa Misteriosa beside the wooden entry platform, small fish swimming past by Rafael de Sant'Anna Cordeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
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- Freshwater diving: lakes, springs and quarriesFreshwater · 15 min read
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