Gruta do Lapão


Useful Information

Location: Reserva Ambiental Gruta do Lapão, Santa Luzia BA 45865-000.
(-15.446105, -39.357190)
Open: All year Fri-Sun 9-17.
[2023]
Fee: Abseil/cave tour: depends on operator.
[2023]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst Cave
Light: bring torch
Dimension: L=480 m, A=562 m asl, T=20 °C, H=90 %.
Cathedral: L=120 m, W=20 m, H=21 m.
Guided tours:  
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography: Kaique Brito Silva, Elvis Pereira Barbosa, Jonatas Batista Mattos, Liz do Amaral Cruz, Eric de Lima Silva Marques, Neylor Calasans Rego, José Wildes Barbosa (2015):
Caracterização Climática da Gruta do Lapão, Santaluzia – BA e Suas Contribuições Para Estudos Espeleológicos,
ANAIS do 33º Congresso Brasileiro de Espeleologia, Eldorado SP, 15-19 de julho de 2015 – Sociedade Brasileira de Espeleologia. pdf researchgate
Address: AVENTUR Turismo & Aventura Gruta do Lapão, Av. 2 de Julho, 971 - Santa Luzia, BA 45865-000, Tel: +55-73-99962-6961. E-mail:
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


Description

Gruta do Lapão (Lapão Cave) is a huge cave passage and a gorge. The site is called the Reserva Ambiental Gruta do Lapão or ECO - Fazenda Gruta do Lapão, and is a private nature reserve. This is called Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural (RPPN) or Private Natural Heritage Reserve in Brasil. The owner of the land, Max do Carmo, has a sort of youth hostel accommodation for groups and offers trips into the huge cave on the property. The cave is visited on cave trekking tours, which also include abseiling into the gorge. He is obviously a caver and has the necessary knowledge, and he actually hosted a caving conference a few years ago. All necessary equipment is provided, which includes helmet, headlamp, and climbing gear.

The cave is named after the Serra do Lapão, the mountain ridge along the coast. The mountain ridge consists mostly of insoluble rocks and thus has no other caves, this is the only cave in the area located in a small karstified patch of limestone. The visit includes the main chamber named Cathedral, which is 120 m long, 20 m wide, and 21 m high. The cave is a gorge-like passage, a through-cave which is 480 m long.