Lagoa Misteriosa

A flooded sinkhole at the bottom of a forested doline about 75 m deep in Jardim, near Bonito. A diver reached 220 m in 1998 without seeing the bottom; visitors snorkel or dive to set limits, with technical dives arranged by consultation.

Lagoa Misteriosa is a water-filled sinkhole on a rural property in Jardim, Mato Grosso do Sul, belonging to the Grupo Rio da Prata group of attractions. The lake lies at the foot of a forest-covered doline (a closed limestone depression) about 75 m deep and continues downward as a largely vertical flooded shaft whose bottom has never been reached.

In 1998 the diver Gilberto Menezes de Oliveira reached 220 m without seeing the bottom. The operator stresses that this is an exploration depth, not the depth of visitor dives. In August 2008, a team of 13 cave divers supervised by Tuta Barroco mapped the shaft to 70 m as part of a management plan for the federal environment agency Ibama.

The attraction was closed in 2005 for lack of an environmental licence and reopened in late July 2011 after the state environment agency IMASUL issued its operating licence. The operator now offers snorkelling and scuba diving in published categories, from an introductory dive to 8 m up to advanced dives to 30 m, plus technical diving booked by consultation on the basis of a dive plan.

Water clarity follows the seasons. Microalgae bloom roughly from mid-October to mid-April, when average daily temperatures exceed about 26 °C, turning the blue water green; introductory and basic dives and snorkelling are suspended then, while advanced and technical dives may go ahead if visibility allows. The operator gives the water temperature as a constant 24 °C.

The lake occupies the bottom of a limestone doline about 75 m deep, covered in forest. Below the surface the cavity behaves as a vertical flooded cave, which a 2008 mapping report noted lets divers descend to great depth.

The operator gives a constant water temperature of 24 °C. Seasonal microalgae blooms, which it links to daily average air temperatures above about 26 °C and to nutrient input, reduce visibility from roughly mid-October to mid-April; it says reforestation and soil-conservation works around the doline have made blooms less intense.

Press reports describe Lagoa Misteriosa as the deepest known flooded cave in Brazil, and its true depth remains unknown. It is one of the longest-established dive sites in the Bonito region.

Visibility of up to 40 m is described for snorkelling in the clear-water season. Algae season runs roughly mid-October to mid-April (the operator's pages give slightly different start months); introductory and basic dives are suspended then. Press reports in 2025 described the visiting season as April to September. Heavy rain can cancel or interrupt visits.

نطاقات اعتيادية من مصادر منشورة، لا ظروف آنية.

One water entrance at the foot of the doline, reached by a trail of about 1,100 m round trip and a stairway of 185 steps.