Ilha das Cobras

Named for the serpentine green moray eels that emerge from every crevice in the rocky reef, Ilha das Cobras delivers one of the most characterful dive experiences on the Rio de Janeiro coast. The island's granite boulders tumble down to a sandy floor at around 18 meters, creating a maze of swimthroughs, archways, and overhangs colonized by orange cup corals, encrusting sponges, and schools of glassy sweepers. Parrotfish and sergeant majors are inescapable, their rasping and chirping audible from 10 meters away.