Gruta da Lapinha

Gruta Lapinha - Laphina Cave

Useful Information

Location:	R. Nossa Sra. do Rosário, s/n - Lapinha, Lagoa Santa - MG 33400-000. Lagoa Santa, Parque Estadual do Sumidouro. Followe R. Ns. do Rosário to the northern end. (-19.562015, -43.959739)
Open:	Gruta da Lapinha: all year Tue-Sun 8:30-17, last entry 16. Museu Peter Lund: all year Tue-Sun 8:30-17, last entry 16. Museu Arqueológico da Lapinha: all year Tue-Fri 9:30-16, Sat, Sun, Hol 9:30-17. [2026]
Fee:	Park: Adults BRL 30, Children (6-12) BRL 15, Children (0-5) free, Students BRL 15, Locals free, Seniors (60+) BRL 15, Disabled BRL 15. Tickets valid for Lapinha Cave, Museo Lund, and trails. Museu Arqueológico da Lapinha: Adults BRL 30. Casa Fernão Dias: free. [2026]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	LED
Dimension:	L=511 m, VR=40 m, T=19 °C.
Guided tours:	L=300 m, VR=40 m, D=40 min, MinAge=4, Max=20. V=36,000/a [2000]
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Gruta da Lapinha - Parque Estadual do Sumidouro, R. Nossa Sra. do Rosário, s/n - Lapinha, Lagoa Santa - MG 33400-000, Tel: +55-31-3689-8592, WhatsApp: +55-31-99777-4276. E-mail: E-mail: Museu da Lapinha - Centro Arqueológico de Lagoa Santa - MG, Tel: +55-31-3681-1363 - +55-31-9158-7211 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

1835	discovered by the Danish scientist Peter Wilhelm Lund.
1972	Museu Arqueológico da Região de Lagoa Santa opened to the public.
04-JAN-1980	Parque Ecológico do Vale do Sumidouro created.
1987	human bones of Lagoa Santa Man excavated at Lapa do Acácio.
21-SEP-2012	Museu Peter Lund inaugurated.

Description

Gruta da Lapinha (Laphina Cave) is the first cave, the Danish scientist Peter Wilhelm Lund discovered at Lagoa Santa, the place where he lived from 1835 to his death in 1880. When he discovered the cave, he declared: "Never have my eyes seen anything as beautiful in the domains of Nature or of Art". He explored the cave and found numerous minerals and bones, which he sent to King Christian VIII of Denmark. Today they are on display in the Zoological Museum at the University of Copenhagen. The most important find was the skull of the Homem da Lagoa Santa (Lagoa Santa Man), who lived in this region 10,000 years ago. Other bones in the cave were identified to be from sabre-tooth tigers and the giant armadillo. Today there is a museum named Museu Peter Lund, also called Museu da Lapinha, in front of the cave, which shows bones and historic documents of the first excavation.

Laphina Cave is a network cave developed in limestone (marble) with a horizontal cleavage. The show cave is "self-guided" with flagstone paths and bench seats made from slate at strategic places. The cave is a network of high fault and joint-guided rifts of varying widths, some up to 20 m+ high. The cave is very dry and quite dusty in places.

Text by Tony Oldham (2002). With kind permission.

The Gruta da Lapinha has 16 subsequent chambers, many with beautiful speleothems. The tour follows the main passage for some 300 m and has a height difference of 40 m. Children 5 years and younger are free in the park, but it is recommended that they are not taken on the cave tour. The park has 157 archaeological sites and 35 caves, but only the show cave is open to the public.

The old description by Tony Oldham above ist still mostly correct, but tells about self guided tours. This detail has changed, when the site was transformed into a park and mandatory guided tours started. At first visitors went to the Visitor Center, bought tickets, got a time for their tour and then visited all other attractions with the ticket while waiting for the tour. This seems to have changed again, we guess as a result of the Corona pandemic. It is now mandatory to book the tour in advance, either by phone, WhatsApp or through online booking. Booking is possible until 48 h before the visit. Still the same is the fact that a ticket for the cave is required to see the museum or hike the trails. The number of visitors on tours is restricted, so on weekends they may be booked out. Closed shoes are mandatory, helmets are provided.

There is a restaurant, the Museu Peter Lund, and three trails, Circuito Lapinha (Lapinha Trail, L=500 m, D=45 min), Trilha Sumidouro (Sumidouro Trail, L=2.3 km, D=90 min), and Trilha da Travessia (Crossroad Trail, L=5.5 km, D=2.5 h). The first trail, Lapinha Trail, must be booked and is available only two times a day, which is a little weird for a hiking trail. The reason is simply that it includes a visit to Gruta da Macumba (Macumba cave). All the caves along the trails were unfortunately closed due to vandalism, visit is only possible with a guide. The other two trails are self guided but accessible only during the open hours of the park. The park also has some routes for climbers.

The park was named Parque Estadual do Sumidouro after a swallow hole, where a river vanishes underground. In Portuguese the term sumidouro means swallow hole or sink. The indigenous term for this place is Anhanhonhacanhuva, which means "still water that disappears into the hole of the Earth". In fact, the sink is a seasonally dry lake named Lagoa do Sumidoura, which is the origin of the name. There is a small river which flows into the lake, but no outflow. The water enters the cave system on the eastern side of the lake at the foot of a limestone cliff. During the dry season the lake dries up, and it is possible to see how the water vanishes underground. The cliff is a stop on the Sumidouro tail, which has an outlook on top of the cliff where you can see the karren and stone forrest,

There is also the Museu Arqueológico da Região de Lagoa Santa, also called Museu Arqueológico da Lapinha, with many archaeological finds of the whole region. It is a real curiosity and pretty weird. The museum is the personal collection of the Hungarian immigrant Mihály Bánya, a self-educated and self-appointed archaeologist. But due to his efforts much was saved which would have been destroyed otherwise. And his museum is located in a castle-like building named the Castelinho (Little Castle), which was lately under threat to be demolished. Fortunately this weird location could finally be saved.

About a kilometer to the north at the village Quinta do Sumidouro is the Casa Fernão Dias. Fernão Dias Paes Leme was a bandeirante, a typical brazilian explorer and pioneer, who was searching for gold in the area. He requested supplies from São Paulo, and waited here for them to arrive. Inbetween he chose a fertile plot of land nearby and started a farm. This building was declared a historical landmark in 1971, and is today a museum about the Estrada Real (Royal Road). This road through the valleys of the Velhas River and the São Francisco River facilitated the supply of food to the mining region. It is also the trailhead of the above-mentioned Sumidouro Trail.