PETAR Caves
Alto Ribeira Tourist State Park (PETAR), Created 1958, With Hundreds Of Registered Caves; Part Of The Atlantic Forest South East Reserves, UNESCO World Heritage Site Inscribed 1999 · Iporanga, São Paulo
PETAR, the Alto Ribeira Tourist State Park, is Brazil's best-known cave park, a limestone region of Atlantic rainforest in the south of São Paulo state with hundreds of registered caves, dozens of them open to visitors. It is part of the Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visits are wet and physical: guided groups wade rivers through the Caverna Santana, with its halls of stalactites and formations, walk through the Ouro Grosso cave's cascades, or hike to the Casa de Pedra, whose entrance portal is among the tallest cave mouths in the world. Between caves there are waterfalls and forest trails. The park is split into several centres, reached from the small towns of Iporanga and Apiaí and the village of Bairro da Serra, on roads that are partly unpaved. Guides are mandatory. Caves close after heavy rain because water rises quickly underground. It is a trip for people who do not mind mud, cold water and headlamps, and it is the most memorable cave experience in the country.
Parque Estadual Turístico do Alto Ribeira, Iporanga and Apiaí, SP, Iporanga, São Paulo, Brazil
The park is divided into several visitor centres, the main ones being Santana, Ouro Grosso, Casa de Pedra and Caboclos, each with its own caves, and they open daily in daytime hours with last entry some time before closing. No cave can be entered without a registered local guide, and guides are booked separately from the park ticket. Several caves have daily visitor limits and group-size caps, so on holidays and long weekends the popular ones sell out early. The rule that ruins trips is rain: caves close after heavy rain because underground rivers rise quickly, and the park can shut them for a day or more with no notice, which is common in the summer wet season. Individual caves also close for conservation or research. Roads to some centres are unpaved and may be impassable after storms. Plan a spare day, and confirm current opening, cave availability and closures with the park or your guide.