Huella de Santo Tomás

Cueva De Santo Tomás

Useful Information

Location:	Mariscal Francisco Solano López 667, Yaguarón 091503. (-25.5680629, -57.2934703)
Open:	no restrictions. [2025]
Fee:	free. [2025]
Classification:	Tectonic Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=40 m.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Huella de Santo Tomás, Mariscal Francisco Solano López 667, Yaguarón 091503. Turismo Yaguaron, Tel: +595-983-946-460. E-mail:
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History

Description

The Huella de Santo Tomás (Footprints of Saint Thomas) is the name of the site, not the local version of the cave name. The cave is actually called Cueva De Santo Tomás, but unfortunately there are several caves of the same name. The most famous is a large cave system on Cuba, and so a Google search will mostly list this cave. But this tiny cave in Paraquay is nevertheless quite interesting. It is located at the southern rim of the city Yaguarón, where an elliptical hill named Cerro Yaguarón can be found. It’s a plateau with a farm on top, but it is also a sort of weekend destination for the citizens, allowing hiking, barbecue, or even eating at a restaurant. The hill has numerous sights, like the Sendero karai pyhare, an observation deck, the Museo Tava Jaguaru, the Museo Siete Miteos-Yaguaron, the Oratorio Gamarra, and finally the Huella de Santo Tomás. The northern rim has an escarpment and a hiking trail along the rim.

The cave was named after a local legend, that Pa’s Sumé (Saint Thomas) once visited the rock and afterwards the rock contained his footprints. This is a rather common legend, found all over the world, and the result of erosional forms in the rock face which sometimes resemble footprints. There are two footprints of Saint Thomas, in a distance of a large step. Popular belief tells that if a pilgrim’s foot matches the "footprints" on the rocks, he or she will have good luck throughout the year and will marry the person he or she loves. As a result thousands of young people flock to the spot every Good Friday to try their luck. And there are more legends about the site. One tells that this was the place where the seven evil children of Tau and Kerana, two mythological figures from the Guarani era, were slain.

The city Yaguarón was once known as the city of flowers. But some time ago they decided to call themselves "city of myths". The Paseo de los Mitos (Walk of Myths) was created, for Argentinian and Brazilian tourists. Local artists made wall paintings depicting those myths, on the walls of the neighborhood homes. About three blocks were painted this way.

Despite the good development, the hill is home to a variety of wild animals, including snakes, anteaters, mykure, and apere’a. The cave is a rare tectonic cave, nevertheless it is rather small and has no speleothems. It was formed by a fracture zone in the rock which runs NNW-SSE, the blocks on both sides moved apart and so the cave was formed. It has straight walls and a rectangular shape. This extraordinary shape is the reason why it is often thought to be artificial. The cave was explored by José Miguel Jimenez Vicezar and the Special Rescue Group (GER) of Ciudad del Este.

And again there is a legend, that Saint Thomas actually lived in the cave, at least for some time.