Gruta do Centenário

Caverna do Centenário

Useful Information

Location:	Santa Bárbara. 8 km from the Santuário do Caraça, which are 6 hours of difficult hike. 120 km from Belo Horizonte and 26 km from Catas Altas.
Open:	closed. [2020]
Fee:	n/a
Classification:	Quartzite Karst Caves
Light:	no
Dimension:	L=3,790 m, VR=481 m.
Guided tours:	no
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	..
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1922	discovered by the priests of the Colégio do Caraça.

Description

Gruta do Centenário is the deepest cave of Brazil and of the whole southern hemisphere. It is located close to the summit of the 2,070 m high Pico Alto do Inficcionado. But the most special thing with this cave is its geology: it is the deepest quartzite karst cave of the world! Quartzite is not really soluble by water, so quartzite caves are very rare, and such a big example is really extraordinary.

This cave is not accessible to tourists. Beneath its remote location, which includes a 6 hours hike from the Santuário do Caraça up the Pico Alto do Inficcionado this cave is a vertical cave and only suitable for experienced cavers.