Gruta Alambari de Baixo

Caverna do Alambarí de Baixo

Useful Information

Location:	Petar National Park, Nucleus Ouro Grosso. 3 km from the Bairro Serra (Serra Village) in Iporanga. Rodovia SP-165 - Km 156. (-24.545687, -48.682028)
Open:	All year Tue-Sun 8-15:20. Tours every 20 min. [2020]
Fee:	Park: Adults BRL 32, Children (0-12) free, Seniors (60+) free, Disabled free, Students BRL 16. Mercosul 25% discount, Brasil 50% discount. Cave: free. Monitor Ambiental: required. [2020]
Classification:	Karst cave river cave limestone, through cave
Light:	bring full caving gear
Dimension:	L=890 m, VR=32.
Guided tours:	Access: L=5 km, D=3 h. Cave: L=890 m, VR=32. Max=8, per day 184. Monitor Ambiental mandatory.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Caverna do Alambarí de Baixo, Parque Estadual Turístico do Alto Ribeira (PETAR), Núcleo Ouro Grosso, SP-165, Iporanga - SP, 18330-000, Tel: +55-15-3552-1875. 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

1998	headquarters of the Ouro Grosso branch inaugurated.

Description

Gruta Alambari de Baixo (Cave of Alambari from Below) is the resurgence of the river Alambari, hence the name. The Alambari river comes from the region of Camargos and vanishes in sinks. This is the lower of two caves in the area and has access to the cave river. The other cave is named Alambari de Cima (Cave of Alambari from Above) and is not open for the public.

The tour requires some walking in deep water, which makes this trip quite adventurous. However, the head is always out of the water, and for security reasons the guide has a life vest. At least that's what they say on the website, we guess the idea is that at least one survives. If you have one you might want to bring it, also some water proof box or bag for your action cam. Beneath the necessity to walk in the water this cave is actually one of the easiest caves of Petar as there are no technical difficulties.

The cave is reached along the river Alambari, the sink of the river is a portal 10 m high and 20 m wide (-24.555213270795747, -48.664573454230776). This sink is dry, as the river vanishes into the debris at the floor before it reaches this old sink. From the entrance a descend over large blocks of debris leads to the first chamber, which is still illuminated from the portal. After another descend the cave river is reached and the main passage is normally filled with about 30 cm of water. We guess gum boots or neoprene shoes are a good idea. There are various collapses, where blocks have to be climbed to continue on the other side. The water becomes deeper and close to the exit it reaches a maximum of about 1.60 m. For the deeper parts a security rope exists. Finally the resurgence of the river on the other side of the hill is reached.

To reach the cave a 2.5 km hike trough the forest is necessary, so bring the necessary equipment, hat, sun protection, insect repellent, enough water and food. The walk on the former logging road takes about an hour. After the one hour cave tour you have to walk back to the nucleo. And as it is a through cave there is no way to leave dry clothes at the entrance, you have to pack them watertight and take them with you. The full tour takes three hours and is quite strenuous.

Unlike Ouro Grosso Cave, this one does not require climbing waterfalls or nasty crawls, nevertheless it is a strenuous tour. Most of the tour is walking in the river, several times more than waist high, the water is sometimes 1.60 m deep. The use of professional caving equipment including neoprene suite is heavily recommended. Locals tend to go in t-shirt and shorts though, but they regularly complain who cold it was. Equipment is not provided, you must bring your personal equipment. Helmet, headlamp, and water proof walking shoes are mandatory. Carbide lamps are forbidden.

The tours are monitored, so you must first find a monitor, then buy the tickets. If you buy tickets first and find no monitor, you can not go on the tour.