Ilha do Mar Virado

Ilha do Mar Virado is a 119-hectare continental island, just 2 km from the nearest point on the mainland. Its terrain consists of granite hills with ridges running NE-SW, the same direction as the mountain ranges on the mainland. On land, the island holds an archaeological site with four periods of occupation: prehistoric, Tupi, European and caiçara. Europeans arrived in the 16th century, and the caiçara presence marked the island from the 18th century until the mid-20th century.

Excavations recorded about 5,800 artifacts made of stone, bone, teeth, shells, ochre, charcoal and pottery, as well as several human burials. In the bay with a rocky shore where an underground stream flows out, pipes, polished axes, stone flakes and pottery of the Tupiguarani tradition were found. Food remains at the site include sharks, rays, corcorocas, roncadores, sargos, whale and turtle, a sign that the ancient inhabitants lived off the sea. These inhabitants relied on a rocky shore rich in bivalves, gastropods, crustaceans and echinoderms, and on fish, turtles and marine mammals in the waters around the island.

In Ubatuba, summer is usually the best time to dive, with warmer water.