Photo: MAURICIO GOMES DE OLIVEIRA · CC BY-SA 4.0
A clear, flooded cave pool in the Chapada Diamantina, visited by swimmers and snorkellers, where cave divers recovered an exceptional Ice Age mammal fauna in 2005. No current scuba access is documented.
Visitors reach the water by a wooden staircase and platform inside the sinkhole and swim or snorkel wearing life jackets; around midday for much of the year a shaft of sunlight lights the pool. Check-in is at a restaurant in the village of Piruca, Nova Redenção.
For divers, Poço Azul is significant as the place where a specialised cave-diving team recovered fossils in 2005 from up to 16.5 m, including a nearly complete giant ground sloth now held by the Museu de Ciências Naturais PUC Minas. No source reviewed describes recreational scuba diving here.
The environment
A clear, flooded cave inside a collapse sinkhole that meets the water table about 30 m below the surface. A show-cave reference gives the pool as 40 m long, 20 m wide and 60 m deep.
Conditions
Sunbeam season roughly February to October around midday (sources differ on hours). Visitors are asked to shower first and avoid sunscreen, moisturiser and repellent. Rainy days are the poorest for visits.
Typical ranges from published sources, not current conditions.
Facilities
Wooden staircase and platform to the water; snorkel, mask and life jacket supplied at check-in.
For orientation, not navigation. Hollow dots are approximate.
Every fact on this page, with its source (7)
| Fact | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| In 2005 a team specialised in cave diving recovered the fossils from a maximum depth of 16.5 m; the collection is curated at the Museu de Ciências Naturais PUC Minas. | Verified | [1] |
| The cave sits inside a collapse doline about 50 m across that intersects the water table about 30 m below. | Verified | [1] |
| A show-cave reference gives the pool as 40 m long, 20 m wide and 60 m deep.Single reference; primary survey (Rubbioli 1998) not opened. | Reported | [2] |
| Swimming is allowed and snorkel, mask and life jacket are supplied at check-in at Restaurante Dona Alice, Povoado Piruca.Undated reference page with 2020 fee data. | Reported | [2] |
| A Bahia tourism guide presents Poço Azul as a floating (snorkelling) experience.Updated 2025-07-02. | Reported | [3] |
| The best light is given as 8 February to 20 October around midday; visitors should shower first and avoid sunscreen and creams.Hours differ within the source. | Reported | [2] |
| The public meeting point in Povoado Piruca is at about 12.782 S, 41.149 W.Area-level coordinate of the check-in point. | Reported | [2] |
Verified: stated by an official or primary source we opened. Reported: from a secondary source only. Sources conflict: the note gives both versions. May be out of date: the newest source we found is old.
Written in our own words from the sources above. Report a correction