Rio do Peixe, Bonito MS: waterfalls, natural pools and a farm day

Rio do Peixe is a farm near Bonito with waterfalls in sequence and clear natural pools. It combines a waterfall outing with day-use facilities, which lets you stay the whole day.

What Rio do Peixe is

Rio do Peixe is a rural property near Bonito crossed by a river that forms waterfalls and natural pools along its course. The outing combines a light trail between the falls with staying put: there are facilities to spend the day, not only to walk and leave.

It is an intermediate format between a pure waterfall outing, like Estância Mimosa, and a river beach day use, like Balneário do Sol. Anyone who wants both without splitting the day between two addresses finds the combination here.

What a natural pool is

They are basins the river itself carved into the rock, fed by running water. They differ from a waterfall plunge pool in being shallower and calmer, and from a swimming pool in having an uneven bottom and a temperature set by the river rather than the sun.

The practical advantage is variety: along the same route there is usually a shallow pool for small children, a deep one for swimming and a fast stretch for anyone who wants to feel the force of the water.

The rhythm of a day on a river farm

Unlike outings with a fixed departure, the day organises itself: you arrive in the morning, walk to the first falls, come back for lunch and the afternoon is whatever each person wants. That freedom is the main attraction and also the main trap — a group with no agreement usually spends the day looking for each other.

It is worth agreeing two times on arrival: lunch and departure. Everything else can stay loose.

When to go

In the rainy season the falls gain volume and the forest is lush, at the cost of a slippery trail and the occasional closed pool. In the dry season the water is clearer and the walking more comfortable, with gentler falls. The heat from October to March is what favours swimming most.

What to bring

• Swimwear underneath and a dry change for the end of the day.
• Footwear that can get wet, with some grip.
• A towel and sunscreen applied before you reach the river.
• Repellent, especially on the forest sections.

With children

The sequence of pools is what makes this place work for families. Children who lose interest halfway along a long trail rarely lose it here, because something different appears every few minutes and the walking between one fall and the next is short enough not to become a negotiation.

The usual cautions still apply. Depth changes quickly at the foot of a fall, wet rock is slippery in a way that dry rock never suggests, and a basin that looks calm can have a current running against the far wall. An adult in the water settles all of that better than any sign on the bank.

Frequently asked questions

Is the trail hard?

It is light, with short distances between falls. Far easier than Boca da Onça.

Written by: Adriano Habermann Last updated: September 13, 2026