The PETAR main atraction are certainly the cavernas (Portuguese word for caves). Besides the caves inside the park, many others can be found outside it. Here are some of them:
Caverna Santana (Santana Cave)
Located in the Santana Center, the Caverna Santana is certainly the most interesting cave of this region in terms of formations and labyrints. The total length of its galeries is more than 6 Km. Part of the cave is totally accessible to the people in general, containing wood laders and bridges installed at difficult access places. Other part of the cave can only be visited with the help of highly specialized guides. In this part are, among others, the São Paulo, São Jorge and Vulcões (Volcanoes) rooms (see pictures below).At last there are cave rooms that are totally closed to the people in general and can only be visited by specialists and with previous authorization, in order to maintain the cave environment.
Some rooms and formations of Caverna Santana
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Entrance |
Discos |
Vulcões |
Helictites |
São Paulo, |
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São Paulo, |
São Paulo, |
São Jorge, |
São Jorge, |
São Jorge, |
Click on the picture you want to enlarge.
Caverna Água Suja (Dirty Water Cave)
This cave is situated in Santana
Center 2 Km from the Checkpoint. This distance must be walked on a
track among the deep forest, sometimes crossing the Betary river.
The Caverna Água Suja has many particularities. All the vist to
the cave can be done inside the water. A rivulet can be followed departuring
from the entrance, the rivulet becomes wider and deeper in some parts of
the cave, but not more than 1.5 m deep.
This cave is also one of a few that are totally live. You can also see
at the end of the visitable part of the cave a not very old crumbling.
Some of the cave rooms are more than 20 m high. Besides that, there are
in the cave some travertine lakes in intense activity, a very beautiful
view.
The highlight of the cave and the end of the visit is certainly a 2 m high
waterfall, 500 m from the entrance. The bath is obligatory for people who
like exciting adventures. Notice the rivulet going out from the cave entrance
by clicking on the picture below.
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Água Suja |
Click on the picture to enlarge it.
Caverna Morro Preto (Black Hill Cave)
The Caverna Morro Preto is also situated in the Santana
Center, about 500 m from the checkpoint.
To arrive at the cave you have to cross the Betary River and next climb
the hill by a quite steep track, but to make tourist lives easier, some
wood seats were installed on the track in order to make some breaks.
This cave is almost dead. It has one of the more beautiful cave entrances.
On the foreground there is a room which is in front of another big one
3 m below. At this rooms were found signs of pre-historic habitation of
the cave. Between the two rooms there is a column of about 2 m diameter
by more than 5 m high.
Going down about 20 m and up another 30 m, there is a kind of internal
observatory. From this place you can see the cave entrance from inside.
The view is astonishing, from this point you can also see the column described
above in the midle of the entrance.
The tour become very dangerous from this point, there are many hills and
abyss. From this point there is also a link with the Caverna
do Couto, but only the more experienced people manage to go the way,
allways with a guide help.
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Morro Preto |
Click on the picture to enlarge it.
You can find this cave immediately below the Caverna
Morro Preto. The Caverna do Couto is also a beautiful cave. This cave
crosses the mountain, and one of its entrances are at the same side of
Caverna Morro Preto. A waterfall can be found outside,
below the cave entrance. The water come from inside the cave and join the
Betary River a few metres below.
The entrance is very small at this side, less than 2 m high by 1 m wide.
Very soon after going inside the cave, there is a wood lader previously
installed that lead us to the same level of the waterfall. At this level
is the rivulet bottom that makes the waterfall. The rivulet can guide us
to reach the other side of the mountain.
In some parts of the cave the ceiling is very low, so you have to bend
yourself to pass. The view of the cave ceiling sometimes is very interesting,
thousands of dewdrops on ceiling surface reflect the light of our headlamps
making a delightfull view.
The whole stretch inside the cave is about 400 m and the entrance at the
other side of the mountain is much bigger than the first, about 30 m wide
by 10 m high.
Caverna Laje Branca (White Wall Cave)
Located outside the park, about 4 Km from Santana
Center entrance, this cave also has its particularities.
Almost without formations, the interesting in this cave is its entrance.
About 30 m wide by 50 m high, the top of the stone wall is projected 20
m outside the mountain and lots of trees can be seen laying above the stone.
Also on the top, a rivulet is transformed in many raindrops as the water
falls down over the forest below.
Take a look at the picture looking towards the sky at the cave entrance.
It shows the rock projection over our heads.
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Looking |
Laje Branca |
Click on the picture you want to enlarge.
Caverna Ouro Grosso (Thick Gold Cave)
Located in the Ouro
Grosso Center, this cave is pura adrenalina (pure adrenalin)
in the words of Jurandir, one of the best guides of the region. The cave
entrance is very small, you have to bend all the body to enter, taking
care with the spiders that live on the low ceiling just at the entrance.
This cave also follows a subterrain rivulet, the stretch is very hilly,
very narrow in some parts with lots of small waterfalls and pools, some
of them with 2 m deep.
Ropes are needed in order to pass in some places inside the cave.
The Caverna do Diabo is located 50 Km from the PETAR,
in Jacupiranga city, and it is certainly the more visited cave in Brazil,
due to its no simmilar beauty and to the touristic facilities installed.
In this cave, a quite large rivulet enter by the cave entrance, going down
on the hilly floor of the cave.
The Caverna do Diabo formations are huge. There are columns with more than
5 m diameter by 20 m high, the touristic part of the cave is full of formations,
the majority of huge dimensions. Some of the first rooms are more than
60 m high.
The 500 m of the touristic part of the cave has many artificial lights,
bridges and ducts. The facilities allow any people to visit the cave, but
on the other hand it is a disgusting modification to the cave environment.
Many travertines and formations were burried under the buildings and some
delicate formations were broken by bad intentioned visitors. The cave modifications
are quite old, perhaps nowadays these kind of alterations would not be
done due to the people consciousness and laws.
Besides the touristic part, more than 8 Km of cave galeries had already
been explored, what makes the Caverna do Diabo one of the longest caves
in Brazil.
Beside the ones listed above, we can find hundreds of other caves, located in a 70 Km radius from the park.
That's it, as people use to say the region is actually a Suiss cheese!
