Grutas de Santo-António

Gruta de Santo-Antonio - Grutas de Sto. Antonio

Useful Information

Location:	Strada das grutas - Pedra do Altar, 2480-034 Alvados. In Pedra do Altar, 3 km NNW of Serra de Santo Antonio. Between Porto de Mos and Alcanena, 23 km SSW Leiria. About 15 km southeast of Porto de Mós, and about 3 km south of the N243. A1 exit 07 Torres Navas, towards Alcanena - Moitas-Venda - Serra de Santo António. A8 exit 22 Porto de Mós, towards Cross of Légua - Porto de Mós - Alvados (39.5369829, -8.7429036)
Open:	JUL to AUG daily 10-18:30. SEP to JUN daily 10-17. [2025]
Fee:	Adults EUR 7.60, Children (5-11) EUR 5, Children (0-4) EUR 2.80, Students EUR 6.40, Seniors (65+) EUR 6.40. Groups (15+): Adults EUR 6.40, School Pupils EUR 2.50. Combo with Grutas de Alvados: Adults EUR 11, Children (5-11) EUR 7.80. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	L=80 m, W=50 m, H=44 m, Ar=6,000 m², T=16-18 °C, A=530 m asl.
Guided tours:	L=400 m, VR=40 m.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Grutas de Santo-António, Estrada das grutas - Pedra do Altar, 2480-034 Alvados, Tel: +351-249-841876, Cell: +351-911-144-358. E-mail: Sógrutas SA, Largo General Baracho 16 - 1º, 2350-757 Torres Novas, Tel: +351-262-940-947, Cell: +351-926-985-390. 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

02-JUN-1955

discovered by quarrymen.

Description

A new Visitors' Centre has been built at the cave entrance and contains all the usual visitor facilities including, restaurant, snack bar gift shop etc.

After leaving the Visitors Centre an artificial tunnel leads into the cave. The first point of interest is the "Lake of Happiness", a small pool of water. The passage turns sharply to the left into a small chamber with a large stalagmite. This in turn leads to a vast chamber with an area of about 6000 square meters, with a length of 80 m, a width of 50 m and a height of 43 m, it is truly an amazing sight. A circular tour around the edge of the chamber takes in a number of tourist attractions. First a large stalagmite comes into view, this is named after "Our Lady of Fatima". Next is a column about 2.5 m high and 5 cm in diameter. A brief stop is made at the end of the chamber to admire the view before going on to the next stalagmite called "The Cypress Tree". This is followed by "Bat Corner" with numerous little animals squeaking somewhere in the roof of the chamber. Finally, the route meets the path at the entrance to the chamber and exit from the cave is by the same route as entry.

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

The Grutas de Santo-António (Saint Anthony Caves) are actually only a single huge chamber. That’s why they are so proud of the huge area of their cave, which is actually a rather problematic way to measure the size of a cave. The round course along the wall of the chamber shows all the formations and most of them from different angles. The tendency to bore visitors with nonsensical fantasy names is a little annoying, but the speleothems are definitely quite impressive.

The cave was discovered in 1955 by a boy who chased a crow through the undergrowth. It disappeared into a pit several metres deep, which the boy could not enter. He told others about his discovery and some time later two quarry workers used ropes and matchboxes to descent to the bottom of the shaft. They discovered the main chamber with its impressive size and speleothems. Soon it was developed as a show cave, because of the vertical entrance shaft this required the digging of a 30 m long artificial entrance tunnel. Inside walkways and stairs were constructed, the cave is lighted by electric light.

The Grutas de Santo-António (Saint Anthony Caves) and the Grutas de Alvados (Alvados Caves) are located in the Parque Natural das Serras de Aire e Candeeiros (PNSAC). This is an area which is dominated by limestone and heavily karstified. Limestone was used to built dry walls at the borders of fields, and it is quarried in multiple quarries. Of course there are numerous caves in the area. The two show caves are only 800 m apart and are both operated by Sógrutas SA, they have a shared website and the same prices. And there are combo tickets for both caves which are cheaper than separate tickets.