Imagine going for a walk underwater. It’s everything you see and know above ground – the jungle, the lush flora, and overhang of the trees – except everything has now gone below sea level. What was land has now become the river. That’s exactly what happened after exceptionally heavy rainfalls inside Recanto Ecológico Rio de la Plata (Natural River Park) in Jardim, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.
What’s so interesting about this particular case is how crystal clear the waters are. There is zero muddiness and no debris. Visibility is very clear because of the conserved ciliary forest that helps protect the margins alongside flowing bodies of water like this river.
This is also a protected private park that is free from public entry, therefore, minimizing the amount of trash and extraneous objects or heavy footfall that would cause further interference with nature.
As per a park official, this is an extremely rare occurrence. The river runs slower when it rains a lot, causing a natural damming process that forces the water to rise. This video was shot at the beginning of the day when the waters rose to high levels, engulfing the surrounding area far above the riverbank and up to where the path lay and surged even higher!
But the water didn’t stay high for long – by the end of the day, it had totally receded (!!), returning to its normal levels by nightfall.
Click below to go on a stroll through an underwater ghost town.
