Touring in Bonito – River snorkeling and Waterfall hiking!

As mentioned in my previous post about Bonito, I wanted to write a little more in detail about all the amazing activities that Bonito and the surrounding area has to offer. Because tourism has grown only recently the whole system that is set up for visitors to tour is one that has been created to be as simple, effective and sustainable as possible. As such, all the tour companies in town charge the same prices for the activities they offer, with the only differentiation being in the transport to/from the activities. This ensures that the local operators are getting the funds they need to maintain the natural beauty and safety of all the activities.

Once we booked our stay at Bonito Ecotel we got an email from H2O Ecoturismo and Events, one of the local touring agencies. We ended up booking everything through them. Below is more about the two tours we did!

Snorkeling at Rio da Prata

The first activity we signed up for was snorkeling at the Rio da Prata (River of Silver), which is one of the signature activities in the area. The bus picked us up from our hotel in the morning at around 7:30am and with about 10 people total we drove an hour out (50km) to this activity. There was only one downfall of this tour – most people tag it together with touring Buraco das Araras (the Macaws’ Hole), which is a sinkhole that is 160m wide, 100m deep and has many macaws nesting inside of it. Since we learned at the bird park in Iguazu Falls that birds aren’t really my thing we decided to skip it, however, the group transportation we took (that was about 50% cheaper than a private hire) had to stop at both places. (Note: we later heard that folks who did to go Buraco das Araras only saw anywhere from 0-4 to macaws so we felt good about our decision to skip it). Because of this we arrived at the Rio da Prata area at around 9am and had about 3.5 hours to kill before our 12:30pm tour.

Luckily, there were many things to enjoy while we “waited” around. There was an area full of hammocks and we spent a bunch of time relaxing, reading, doing crossword puzzles and just being silly together. There were also lots of animals on the property to see – cows, horses and … macaws! The tour also included lunch and so around 11:30am we noshed on some delicious Brasilian buffet and then got ready to tour it up!

We headed over to the briefing area, with about 7 other people, and got wet suits, water shoes, snorkels and masks. On this tour you aren’t allowed to wear sunscreen or bug repellent, as it affects the natural balance of the river. We were given safety instructions and shown a map with an overview of where we would be going. Then it was go time! We started by going on a little cart ride through the farms to the entrance of a trail and then hiked for about 50 minutes to get to the snorkeling entry point. I am not going to lie, the hike was pretty and we saw a bunch of cool monkeys, but it was a little bit of torture for a girl who attracts mosquitos like, well, moths to a flame. (And, I’m not crazy in saying mosquitos seem to find and feast on me – there is scientific proof as to why mosquitos bite some people more than others! Read about it here). I ended up with a bunch of bites, and because my body is slightly allergic to the bites, the swelling and itchiness was quite uncomfortable. But, ah, what you do in the pursuit of adventure.

After the hike we reached our snorkeling entry point, yay! We got into the water and the guide helped folks who had never snorkeled before (most of the group) learn how to put on and use the gear (including life vests for those who wanted them). Then, he took us in a circle around the “practice area” to ensure everyone was comfortable before going down the river. This was important because once you start going down the river there is a slight current so you shouldn’t stop, and even if you want to you aren’t supposed to put your feet down because you could disturb the the flora and fauna in the river. Even in this practice area the views were stunning!

And then we were off for snorkeling time! Despite the name, the tour actually starts at the Olho d’Água river, which is slower moving and more scenic; we were on this river for about 30-45 minutes. Then the Olho d’Água river merges with the Rio da Prata, which is colder and has less visibility, but moves faster. We were on this river for about 20 minutes. It is just amazing to see a completely different world underwater, one that is unimaginable from above.

We of course took our GoPro with us on this snorkeling journey (thanks again Poops!) and I think video is the best way to show how from above the water you can’t even tell the wonder-world that is lurking beneath the surface. We put up a little clip on YouTube that you can see below.

Another thing that was amazing about this river was that it was absolutely crystal clear. A big part of the reason for that is that the water is actually sourced from underneath the river. I don’t know the exact geology, etc. behind it but basically water bubbles up from under the ground to feed the river instead of it being rainwater that flows into the river from the ground above, which is makes it somehow cleaner and clearer. Below you can see a picture of a few places where the water is bubbling up into the river (it’s where the circular ridges are in the sand), and a short video we took showing it as well. I thought it was pretty awesome and unique!

After finishing our snorkeling tour we took the cart back to the main area, rinsed off, changed into dry clothes and had another serving of lunch before boarding the tour bus back to the hotel. All in all it was an amazing, unique snorkeling experience and one I think is a must-do if anyone is in Bonito!

Boca da Onça Hiking, Touring and Swimming

As I mentioned in our previous post, because of the bug bites from the Rio da Prata I decided to sit out this tour. H2O was awesome and able to refund my tour fees and I’m really glad that Damian still went because it looked so awesome! Obviously since I wasn’t there it doesn’t make sense for me to write about it, so I’ll hand off the reigns to Damian to write this part of this post, hey Damian hey!

The Boca da Onça (Mouth of the Jaguar) tour is in nearby Bodoquena, which is about 60 km from Bonito, or about one hour by bus.  The tour, which like all others in the area caps the number of daily visitors and requires a trained local guide, is a full-day excursion that includes a hilly four kilometer hike with stops at eight different amazing waterfalls, including the highest waterfall in the area (the eponymous Boca da Onça).  To better coordinate groups, which can include no more than 15 people each, they schedule the departure of each in waves, and have half the groups start at the beginning of the hike and the other half start at the end, hiking in opposite directions.  This allowed us to not only stop at each waterfall, but to swim in several of them, without ever seeing other groups at each site.

We did the hike in reverse, which meant that we went down (instead of up!) the 886 steps that most people tackle at the end of the hike. While you have the option of paying to rappel down the side of the mountain near the waterfall (the highest platform rappel in Brasil!) we chose to hike down the steep steps instead, which warmed us up nicely for the cool waterfall swims.  The view from the top was spectacular, deep green trees as far as you could see, and the river alongside which we were going to be hiking for the day.

Our first stop was the Boca da Onça falls, which at 156 meters is the highest in the state, and equivalent to a 50 story building. The crystal clear water from the Salobra River made the sight all the more amazing.  We spent twenty minutes swimming under the falls and cooling off before hiking off to the next spot.

We continued on the trail, making regular stops at waterfalls, each one more picturesque then the next. There were a few swimming areas in the river that were still closed from the floods earlier this year, which had engulfed the area.  Some of the riverbanks had been washed away and they didn’t want visitors to make the problems worse.  You can see some amazing footage of what the trails we had hiked near Rio da Prata looked like during the floods here:

One of the natural beauties of the area are the limestone tufts created by the calcium carbonate buildup around branches and leaves. This creates beautiful rounded baths of water that cascade down from one to the other.  While it looked perfect for a lazy dip, these areas were off limits to visitors as they are still being hardened and run the risk of being damaged by people clambering over them.

One of the real highlights though was the Buraco do Macaco (Hole of the Monkey). This is a waterfall that can only be accessed by swimming through a limestone cave and that opens up into a sun-filled opening with water gushing down.  There is a blue lagoon on the other side with sun streaming through and a view of the forest up above.  This was the last swimming hole of the day and our group spent at least thirty minutes swimming around and exploring the area.

Another interesting aspect of the hike, was seeing some of the other changes that resulted from the flooding earlier this year.  One of the waterfalls had completely changed its flow as the higher waters had dragged enough debris to block its normal route.  While I didn’t get a great picture of the re-routed falls, we did see water flowing over the jungle and uncovered rocks where the waterfall had previously run.

At the end of the tour, we got to hang out at the fazenda where they served us a full lunch buffet and had two large fresh water pools fed by the river.  We spent a couple hours eating, reading, relaxing, and swimming, while waiting for other groups to finish their hikes before heading back to the city together.

Jyoti again here! We had such a fun time in Bonito and one day when we return I am sure we will repeat some of what we’ve already done and find some new activities. It is such a rare place of relatively undeveloped beauty and I’m so grateful we were able to include it on our around the world adventure!

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Read more about our time in Brazil using the links below:

• Brazil Country Recap – What we loved (and didn’t love) in our six weeks there
• Iguazu Falls
• Exploring São Paulo
• Exploring Bonito
• Touring in Bonito (river snorkeling and waterfall hiking) (you are here!)
• Rio de Janeiro: Our first three days in Rio
• Rio de Janeiro: “Professor-ial” thoughts on attending a game at Maracana
• Rio de Janeiro: Volunteering with Project Favela
• Three days in the beach paradies of Ubatuba!
• Rio de Janeiro: Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain
• The amazing landscape of Lençóis Maranhenses
• Three days in the hippie beach town of Jericoacoara
• Why we had to skip Canoa Quebrada and go to Natal instead
• Six days in Praia da Pipa (my favorite beach town)
• 24 hours in Olinda