Poço Encantado, Natural pool and cave in Itaetê, Brazil.

Poço Encantado is a subterranean lake inside a cave in Itaetê, near the hamlet of Rosely Nunes in Bahia's Chapada Diamantina. The water lies 60 metres below the cave mouth and its level shifts about 1.5 metres over the year. Blocks fallen from the ceiling lie submerged in the lake, recording successive collapses that sealed the original channels as the water table dropped.

The cave formed over 66 million years through underground erosion of soluble carbon rock, creating a karst landscape. Successive collapses of the ceiling inside the lake record the water table's progressive deepening, making the site a geological record of Earth's evolution. The blind, unpigmented catfish Rhamdiopsis krugi is endemic to the lake.

The name Poço Encantado, "enchanted well", refers to the blue light that fills the water. The lake lies near the hamlet of Rosely Nunes in Itaetê and draws more than twelve thousand visitors a year. The cave catfish Rhamdiopsis krugi, eyeless and unpigmented, lives only here, which is why access is controlled.

You must arrange a guided tour in advance and descend approximately 70 steps to reach the observation platform overlooking the pool. The morning hours offer the best viewing conditions due to natural light and water clarity.

Between April and September, sunlight enters through a natural opening and creates luminous beams that illuminate the transparent waters. This seasonal light show happens only during specific months, making visits during this period particularly memorable.