The combination of native
Atlantic Rainforest
and cave systems characterized by polygonal karst, cones and karst canyons, deep river valleys and
rocky escarpments with cave entrances such as underground drainage systems with a wide variety of
speleothem forms and Quaternary palaeontological sites is hard to find anywhere else in the world.
PETAR lies on the southeastern flank of the Paranapiacaba hill range, with mountainous relief and
altitude differences of up to 700 m . The karst here lies in the transition zone between the Atlantic Plateau,
at 800-1,200 m in the northwest of the Park, and the Coastal Lowlands to the East and Southeast,
with altitudes up to about 600m. The Park is drained by the Betari, Iporanga and Pilões rivers,
whose sources lie at the edge of the Atlantic Plateau (locally known as the Guapiara Plateau)
at between 900 and 1,100 m, and flow into the Ribeira river at about 70-80 m.
The water action in the lime stones in a thousand years period allowed the formation of caves with floor, walls
and ceilings decorated with many speleotems, like stalactites, stalagmites, columns, curtains, etc.
The PETAR caves are divided into "dry" and "wet" caves. In case of the wet caves, the visitor must
follow the internal flow of a river in order to discover the caves hidden secrets, like internal
waterfalls. Sometimes the water can reach the visitors neck and in some cases it is necessary to dive.
It is strongly recommended to avoid visiting those wet caves during times of strong rainfall, when
the water level of the rivers can rise within seconds.
The secret world of the PETAR caves can be accessed by the "núcleos" Santana, Caboclos,
Ouro Grosso and Casa da Pedra. The hiking trail connecting the núcleos Casa da Pedra
and Caboclos passes the so-called Casa da Pedra cave (stone house) which is considered to have
the largest cave-mouth in the world. The principal feature of the Morro Preto cave is its setting
in an archeological site containing pre-historic fossils. The Água Suja cave has chasms and an underground
river with a waterfall at its end. The Areias cave is the only one in the world which is home to the
blind catfish.
