Ilha dos Gatos

Because it lies far from the main dive departure points, Ilha dos Gatos is little visited and has plenty of marine life. Underwater there are brain corals, sponges and a wide variety of fish. Around the islands of the Costa Sul, the water averages 22 °C and can reach 27 °C from mid-January until the arrival of autumn. In early summer, thermoclines can occur in the region.

The island has a curious history: Nelson Rockefeller began building a thick-walled nuclear shelter on it, and the island was leased in the name of a cousin from the Aldrich family. The work was far from finished, and the pit and parts of the walls remain. At the top of the island there are ruins of a building, now covered by vegetation. The island's beach was formed artificially by rock blasting carried out for that construction.