Gruta do Lago Azul

Blue Lake Grotto

Useful Information

Location:	On the Anhumas farm. 260 km from Campo Grande, 21 km from the village Bonito.
Open:	All year daily
Fee:	Low Season: Adults BRL 67, Children (5-11) BRL 7.20, Children (0-4) not allowed. High Season: Adults BRL 89, Children (5-11) BRL 7.20, Children (0-4) not allowed. High Season is on Holiday Weekends and school holidays. [2020]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	natural, bring torch
Dimension:	VR=126 m.
Guided tours:	D=90 min. V=44,000/a[2000]
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:	Heros Augusto, Heros Lobo, Edvaldo Moretti (2009): Tourism in Caves and the Conservation of the Speleological Heritage:The Case of Serra da Bodoquena (Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil), Acta Carsologica. 38. 265-276. 10.3986/ac.v38i2-3.127. researchgate
Address:	Gruta do Lago Azul
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

1924	discovered by the Terena Indians.
1978	protected as a Natural Monument.
1992	Brasilian and Fench divers discovered 10,000 years old animal bones.
2019	35º Congresso Brasileiro de Espeleologia (35º CBE) held in Bonito.

Description

F090-077 — Gruta do Lago Azul. Public Domain.

As the name tells, the most interesting feature of the Gruta do Lago Azul (Blue Lake Cave) is the blue lake it is named after. Every morning, between half past seven and half past nine the sun shines through a hole in the ceiling and the lake gets its typical blue shimmer. The blue colour fills the whole chamber and gives the speleothems a magic touch. The undisturbed surface of the lake mirrors the stalactites, and thus doubles the beauty of the cave.

But the lake is also a prehistoric fossil site. Divers discovered 10,000 years old bones of animals on its ground, the ramains of giant mammals from the Pleistocene era. The found animal species include saber tooth tigers and giant sloths.

The whole area around Bonito is karstified with numerous caves, karst springs and dolines.