Petar, in SP: caves boost sustainable tourism – 11/22/2023 – Tourism

When people say that you’re planning to go to Petar, two reactions are very common: either people have no idea what it’s about, or they say: “Cool. I went there on a school trip!”.

The dichotomy sums up well the common sense about the Alto Ribeira State Tourist Park, an environmental preservation area created in 1958, recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and interspersed with hundreds of caves.

These are monumental scenes, sculpted over thousands of years and which, in an equally raw and beautiful way, help tell the history of the region (see the table below).

“The movement of tectonic plates pressed these limestone rocks, creating a large chain of mountains that was eroded by water, forming caves”, explains Paulo Boggiani, professor at the Institute of Geosciences at the University of São Paulo. “This rugged terrain also left the region somewhat isolated, which gave it peculiar cultural characteristics.”

Despite being halfway to Curitiba, Vale do Ribeira is the poorest region in São Paulo, with levels well below the state average. In the Serra neighborhood, in Iporanga, the main gateway to Petar, broadband internet only arrived in 2020. No wonder, everything there is still very simple.

But today, from the perspective of sustainability, the decades of isolation are behind us. The Ribeira Valley holds 61% of the quarter of Atlantic forest that remains in Brazil.

The turning point was in the 1990s, when nature tourism was boosted by Rio-92, the United Nations conference on the environment held in Rio de Janeiro. From then on, the very few inns that housed geologists and university students also began to receive excursions for primary school students and some more adventurous families.

At that time, lanterns were a distant luxury. The tour through the caves was lit by combustion engines, releasing particles that darkened the formations — damage that can still be seen in some caves today. Some took advantage of free access to take a piece of the stalagmites and stalactites, destroying historical records dating back thousands of years.

Therefore, since 2008, visits have only been permitted with the accompaniment of local guides, who previously survived by extracting the juçara palm, a palm tree that is at risk of extinction due to indiscriminate exploitation. In the 1980s, the practice was banned, but it continued to occur illegally until tourism began to flourish, transforming palm trees into guides.

With nature tourism gaining new strength in the post-pandemic period, new attractions have emerged, including more sophisticated accommodation (such as glampings), rappelling in caves and waterfalls inside and outside the park, nighttime visits, stargazing and even mushroom observation. glow in the dark.

A daily guide costs an average of R$150 and can be shared by a group. You also need to buy tickets (R$19) in advance and rent a helmet, flashlight and life jacket (the kit costs R$30 per day).

Yes, you will inevitably get wet in the caves (the water can reach up to your chest, depending on the season) and, the next day, wear the same clothes and shoes while still wet. It’s strange, but soon it will get wet again.

Although they seem practical, papetes are prohibited. Before you go, it’s worth stopping by a sports store and making sure you have at least two changes of dry fit clothes, which dry easily, and a waterproof case for your cell phone.

Petar has four cores. The main one, Santana, neighboring the Serra neighborhood, has five caves, and Ouro Grosso, the smallest, only two — one of them, Alambari, is a long underground pool that you cross with water up to your neck.

The other two areas contain the most challenging attractions. At Casa de Pedra, 10 km from Iporanga, it is possible to visit the cave of the same name, with the record for the largest portico in the world: 215 meters high. Internal visitation is suspended, but you can get to the entrance (a three-hour trail) and also to a viewpoint.

In Núcleo Caboclos is Temimina, a monumental cave, which sums up the park experience — for those who are physically fit. To get there, you have to wake up early and take a short car trip, as the entrance to the center is 75 km from Iporanga. Between there and back, the trail to the cave is 9 km of pure mud, in a rugged terrain that requires balance.

As a reward, Temimina offers exciting views, underground dives, gigantic halls (even underground) and unique formations, such as a speleothem that resembles a huge shower. Depending on the heat and mud,

Outside Petar, but still in the Serra neighborhood, the Lago Suspenso cave (R$ 260) also offers rappelling. Starting from a small hole in the middle of the rocks on the trail, two large descents lead to a deep lake, guaranteeing great photos and a swim in the dark.

Anyone who wants to experience the same wonder as Temimina, without all the effort it requires, can go to Caverna do Diabo, in the neighboring park, 40 km from Iporanga.

Without a guide, it is possible to explore well lit meters into the cave, ensuring the best photos of the trip. Then, a paid guided tour rappels into the depths of the cave, including bathing in a waterfall “in the center of the earth”. It costs R$366, but includes equipment and even some tea to warm up after the dive.