The cave is a great place to "reboot" from the familiar world and routine.
Ideally, in such places you need to spend all day for this. But even the hour that the official tour of this amazing space lasts, already changes something in a person, and he learns that "this is also possible."
So why is it wrong here. Caves are satellites of mountains, and mountains are primarily the kingdom of the vertical. Therefore, the inhabitants of the valleys benefit from such a "switch" in the sense of rest. The vertical reigns inside the caves as well as on the surface.
All the way along a small cultivated section, you descend a total of about 70 meters. At the end of the excursion, an elevator takes you back to the surface.
Another fact concerning visual perception is that, apart from artificial stairs, for comfortable movement, there are no straight lines at all (including the horizon). And the eye wanders in surprise along the "folds of the terrain", not meeting anything in an army way "parallel and perpendicular."
Promotional video:
The cave is full of sounds of water-elements pouring and dripping from thousands of places, which is here in secondary roles after the earth. In such close harmony and interaction, they are probably not found anywhere else. The water is very mineralized and literally builds everything around from calcium compounds. This kingdom of mineral life expands and you meet it already on the street, in the line at the entrance, where, due to capillary phenomena inside the walls of the pavilion, water climbed onto the visor and dripped from there onto the asphalt from a small stalactite, under which his friend, a stalagmite, has already grown a few centimeters. never gets kicked by a sneaker.
As if on command, all those present noticed the absence of any radio waves inside the cave, which means complete isolation from electromagnetic smog. This suggests that, perhaps, albeit implicitly, a person is still able to feel the presence of radio emission. It should also be said that there is practically no electrostatic electricity in the air - the atmosphere is humid and very "grounded".
Fans of excursions can be advised not to break away from the group and try to understand something in the flow of the guide's Portuguese speech, fluttering like a butterfly from one numbered flower spot to another. We preferred to immediately distance ourselves as much as possible from him and the sightseers and "talk" to the cave tete-a-tete.
Note that only a very small part of this cave complex is accessible for visiting.
I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos - the trip turned out to be almost spontaneous and they did not take normal photographic equipment with them.
Below is the official text for those who care about what is in the part accessible for excursions and how it works.
- Algar is a natural cavity in the form of a well, formed from the dissolution of limestone vertically due to the rise and fall of the water level.
- Hallway - a passage that was above the level of the lamps and connected the entrance to the cave with the "Window".
- The "Window" is a natural passage between the "Hallway" and the "Great Hall", where cavers first descended in 1947.
- Io Poço or “Great Hall” is the largest room in the cave. Its ceiling is formed by large limestone towers that extend 10-30 meters from the base.
- The 7 Natural Wonders of Portugal prize won in September 2010.
- The Red Hall is a small hall north of the Great Hall. Its name comes from the reddish color of the rock, formed by small particles of clay carried by the water and covering the surface of this rock.
- Cascade - Calcite girder is a petrified cascade located on and in the wall.
- Bones - Fossilized animal bones from the Quaternary period were found at this location under the "Window".
- Pulpit is a natural connection between the Great Hall and the rest of the cave. It was only discovered in September 1947, and the first ascent was made by a caver who was advancing along the wall of the SO room.
- "Jewelry". Stalactic multiform at the deepest point of visiting the "Great Hall", at a depth of 30 meters from the cave entrance. Its beautiful cut and sheen is reminiscent of the blotches of precious stones in the rock.
- 2nd well - a majestic well 20 meters deep, topped with a very ruined dome. It was completed only on June 13, 1949.
- The Great Gallery, the main gallery of the cave, is over 10 km long with several branches reaching the water table at a depth of 230 meters.
- Spaghetti - Extremely hollow stalactites (actually called tubiformes), nicknamed by visitors for their shape.
- Jellyfish are a collection of stalactites that in their shape remind us of these marine animals.
- Cascade of the Pearl Fountain - Calcite mantle full of perfect crystals and small honeycomb-like "Gur".
- Octopus Gallery - A gallery secondary to the "Grand Gallery" was named after an isolated group of very white stalactites with the appearance of Dust. This gallery contains red wines that you can taste.
- Organ - A stunning formation with a name derived from many formations, most of which touch the ground and resemble the organ pipes of ancient cathedrals.
- Small Lakes - The floor of this area is made up of lamellas of limestone or petrified clay, which make the land impenetrable, making it small lakes.
- The bar is a room 90 meters deep, so called because it has a balcony, the upper part of which is built into the rock. From this point, visitors can admire the gallery, which presents the most important vistas of the cave.
- Cara da Velha - A rock shaped like the face of an old woman seen in profile.
- Rio Negro (Black River) - many very extensive galleries connected to the ground. Recent research suggests that they may be related to the surface of the earth by an unknown algar. During the winter months, under certain conditions, water can flow with great pressure because the channel is too tight for this season's flow.
- Final Lake - 14 lamps round off the visit and highlight the beauty of the spectacle of the extraordinary work the water has done for millennia.
- Erosion work is one of the curious geological disruptions in the cave. They occur due to wear and polish of the rock by the mechanical action of water and dirt and have the form of smooth and rounded teeth, from 30 to 60 cm long, arranged in rows under the edge of the walls.
- Event room - a room that received public order, gastronomy and culture events
The cave maintains a stable internal temperature of about 17 ° C throughout the year. This warm, humid air rose through the algar, and when it came into contact with the cold air outside during the winter months, it thickened in a haze. It was on the basis of this phenomenon, observed on July 4, that the villagers descended into the grotto to look for water on July 27, 1947. The opening to the public took place on August 11, 1974. The total length of the cave is over 11,500 meters and its extension is 600 meters. The difference in height during the visit is 110 meters in relation to the entrance to the cave, and there are 683 steps.
The deepest point of the cave is over 230 meters deep.
The cave area accessible to the public is illuminated by about 3000 lamps.
The exit from the cave is made by two lifts that can accommodate 33 people. During the visit, you can see 2 of the 3 life stages of the cave: a fossil cave at the top and a semi-active cave next to the lake. Below the water table, the grotto remains active and today new entrances can be opened by water. The limestone of the cave was formed 150 million years ago.
The exit from the cave is 300 meters from the entrance. Follow the blue line to return to the car park.
For the photo of the textures of the surrounding diversity, I thank Alevtina Pugatch Siotoo and, of course, special thanks to my dear friends assucareira and rodom_iz_tiflis, who know the places very well, and without whom this visit would not have taken place.