Gruta Pratinha

Useful Information

Location:	73 km from Lençóis, 36 km from Palmeiras and 19 km from Iraquara. At Fazenda Pratinha. (-12.352592, -41.540882)
Open:	All year daily. [2019]
Fee:	Entrance to Fazinha da Pratinha: Adults BRL 30. Floating at Pratinha Cave: Adults BRL 40. Underwater Photo BRL 30, Wifi BRL 5. Private guided tour: group of up to four people BRL 150-200. Daytrips from Lençóis: Adults BRL 150-230. [2020]
Classification:	Karst Spring
Light:	none
Dimension:	L=340 m, T=24 °C (water), visibility 60m
Guided tours:	Minimum D=2 h.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Gruta Pratinha, Fazinha da Pratinha, Tel: +55-75-3625-0879.
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 Pratinha is a water filled river cave which is visited swimming and snorkeling. The guide uses an inflatable boat and leads the swimmers. All participants get a vest, mask, snorkel and lamp for the tour.

The cave entrance, which is the resurgence of the cave river is a popular bathing spot. It is located on private land and the operator offers good infrastructure, a restaurant, restrooms and various activities. Beneath the cave trip there is swimming and snorkeling, a zip line and kayaks rented. That's actually the reason why we decided to classify this as a show cave, despite the fact that there are no trails and no light.

There is also a cave named Gruta Azul (Blue Cave) nearby, which looks quite similar and actually there is an underwater connection, so it is the same cave. As the connection is a fully water filled syphon, it is accessible only to cave divers. That's the reason why two entrances of the same cave got different names. The Gruta Azul entrance is open for viewing and taking pictures, but it is not allowed to swim here. There is a trail to the cave entrance and stairs to the water. The best time for a visit is between 14:00 and 15:00, because the sun hits the water and the blue color is impressive.

This cave is actually a sort of water park and very popular. It is crowded during school holidays and on weekends, we recommend a visit on a different day.