Bonito Things to Do Tips by swesn Top 5 Page for this destination

BONITO : CAVE TRIPS

If you are more of a sedentary person, not quite up for abseils and snorkellings, there are still many cave tours to join. The options are all available from the hostel so you can flip through the selection and find one that suits you.

The cave I visited was Gruta Lago Azul (Blue Lake Cave). At first, from afar, the water did not blue at all. But as we walked further and further into the cave, the water in the cave became more and more blue. It was eerie and impossible.

There were huge rocks and fallen logs at the bottom of the lake. At first, we figured they were perhaps at a depth of 3 or 4 metres. But the guide told us the huge rock was like 25 metres deep and the fallen log was 12 metres deep!! I was just blown away!

25 metres?!?!? Yet, we could we could see it so clearly. Incredible.

BONITO : ABISMO DE ANHUMAS

For this, you would be tethered to a rope and you have to descend 72m down into a cavern. Surrounded by stalactities of various formations, blahblahblah.

Once you have landed on the pontoon, you change into a wetsuit and jump into the subterranean lake. What you see would be utterly out-of the-world!! The silence, the strange cones that come out from nowhere, the inky bottomless pit, etc... I felt as if I was floating in space.

I was with a friend on this trip. When we both returned to the hostel and someone asked us how the trip went, we just gapped with our mouths opened, unable to utter a single word, with silly grins on our faces. It was incredible, beyond words.

However, I must state that you must not have a fear of heights for this trip. A friend who wanted to go with us gave up during the practice abseil the night before (on a 20m wall). And even if you have no fear of heights (which I generally don't), I was still a bit scared to look into the lake and not see the bottom. Just a bit of warning. But try to do this.

Truly the experience that qualifies for the tag : the most surreal and out-of-the-world experience!!

BONITO : RIO DA PRATA

Usually, you snorkel in the ocean, but here, you snorkel in the river.

And because fresh underground water is bubbling from the ground into the river, the water is so crystal clear (no colours at all) you can see up to 50m straight ahead. No ocean snorkelling can provide you with such views.

You can see all the rocks, fallen logs, fishes (schools of them, tiny ones, plate-sized ones, hundreds of colours... just right next to you). As there is a current, you don't need to swim much. In fact, sometimes, you may have to hold on to logs and backpaddle just to slow yourself down. At one point, the river is so narrow and the current so strong, you have to keep your arms to the side and torpedo through at an amazing speed, twisting your body here and there.

This is one of the most exhilirating snorkelling experience I had ever experienced and one that is surrounded by such astounding nature!