Have you heard about “Caverna do Diabo” (The Devil’s Cave)? Are you curious about it and want to know if it is worth visiting?
On this post I will tell you about our visit to “Caverna do Diabo” also known as “Gruta da Tapagem”. I will explain what you can do at the “Parque Estadual da Caverna do Diabo” the real name of the cave.
After spending a few days travelling in the estate of Santa Catarina visiting Balneário Camboriú, Blumenau, Pomerode and Florianópolis we returned to my brother’s house in Pontal do Paraná. After a few more days with them, it was time to drive back to São Vicente.
We were travelling independently with a hired car as we are confident travellers and speak the language. However, if you prefer to be part of a tour and to have everything organised for you, I advise you to book a complete tour with Tourradar.
They have different kinds of tours that will fit your time and budget. If you book it via my links you can get a discount by using this code: RoseG50.
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We left Pontal do Paraná at about 9 am and went in the direction of São Vicente. We always reach the BR-116 (Rodovia Regis Bittencourt) via “Estrada da Graciosa” (Gracious Road). As the name implies, it is a very scenic route.
Once we arrived at BR-116 it was about 3 and half hours to Jacupiranga where you can see signs to turn to “Caverna do Diabo”.
I visited the caves many years ago when I still lived in Brazil, but I could barely remember it. Every time we passed on the BR-116 and I saw the signs to it, I felt like turning. However, I was always in a hurry and didn’t have the time.
On this occasion we had time, so it was a split decision of turning and following the signs. It was not planned, and I didn’t research anything or had any information beforehand. We turned on SP-193 in Jacupiranga and followed until Eldorado.
In Eldorado we stopped at a bakery to have some lunch and to use the toilets. After the lunch break, we continued and took the SP-165 in the direction of the caves.
It took us about an hour to get there passing through kilometres and kilometres of plantations of banana trees on the SP-165. We didn’t know it was such a long drive from the signs on the BR-116 to the cave. Maybe if we knew we wouldn’t have turned. I was happy we did though.
After a picturesque and nice drive, we finally arrived at the park’s entrance.
Ours was the only car arriving at that time. We were welcomed by a guide from the park that told us that the park was closed on Mondays.
Oh, pants! This is what happens when you don’t plan things in advance.
We started talking to the guide and explained that we were on our way to São Vicente coming from the Pontal and didn’t know that the caves didn’t open on a Monday.
He was very sorry for us and offered us a private tour anyway, so we wouldn’t waste our journey. We happily accepted it and parked the car in the local indicated by him. We walked in the direction of the caves with the guide and started our visit.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CAVERNA DO DIABO
Parque Estadual da Caverna do Diabo was created in 2008, and it is more than 40.000 hectares of “Mata Atlântica” (Atlantic Forest) with a rich ecosystem attracting visitors from the whole world.
The main attraction is the cave that is more than 6.000 metres in extension but only 600 metres is open for visitation. Besides the cave, the park also has many waterfalls, rivers and a large diversity of fauna and flora, including many species that are threatened to be extinct such as the “cedro”, “Palm Juçara” and “Jaguars”.
You can only visit the cave accompanied by a guide and they are always available to accompany you and explain everything along the way.
VISITING THE CAVE
We followed the guide and entered the cave. It had long walkways and stairways with banisters to hold on. There is light in the cave and the structure is well maintained to provide a secure and interesting visit to everyone.
As we advanced inside the cave, we could see the rock formations and the stalactites and stalagmites formed from years and years of water dripping on the same place.
There are interesting designs on the rocks formed like “curtains” in large spaces inside the cave.
Inside there is also the “Catedral” formed by enormous rock formations resembling the interior of a church with lighted candles.
There is also a watercourse crossing the inside of the cave that runs to some of the waterfalls of the region.
The guide explained to us the origen of the name “Caverna do Diabo” and why it was called that. The story comes from the indigenous natives of the area from many centuries ago.
Because of the large spaces and galleries inside the cave, there is eco and various sounds. The natives believed the sounds were emitted by punished souls and the stalactites and stalagmites were the people that had been petrified. The entrance to the cave was considered the entrance to hell. This is where the name came from.
We explored all accessible spaces of the cave and found it an interesting and educational activity. Once we had seen everything, we took our way back to the outside.
We didn’t have time to do any of the trails and visit the many waterfalls as we still needed to drive all the way to São Vicente.
If I were to go back to Parque Estadual da Caverna do Diabo, I would go for a weekend and stay somewhere nearby or in Eldorado.
The following day I would visit the cave in the morning, have lunch in their restaurant or take a picnic with me. I would spend the rest of the day taking the trail to “Vale das Ostras”, passing through various waterfalls such as the “Queda do Meu Deus”, considered one of the most beautiful in the state of São Paulo.
This trail offers the opportunity to swim in the natural crystalline waters of “Rio das Ostras”. If I were to visit it again, I would spend the whole day exploring the park to make the most of it. However, I would make sure not to go on a Monday again!
If you are based in São Paulo capital, there is a day trip from the capital to “Caverna do Diabo” that takes 4 hours by car. It includes the transport , lunch and the visit to the cave.
Below is a map of our itinerary on that day:
I hope this post gives you some ideas of what to visit and what to do at Parque Estadual da Caverna do Diabo and helps you to plan your visit there.
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR VISIT TO CAVERNA DO DIABO
Below you will find a list of what to visit, where to stay and where to eat at Caverna do Diabo. I classified each place as follows:
BOLD – Visited, tried and recommended
NOT BOLD – Not visited or tried, but planning to visit or try and heard very good reviews
RED – Visited and tried but do not recommend, avoid or be cautious
*** – Excellent
** – Good
* – OK
£££ – Expensive
££ – Fair and affordable
£ – Cheap
PLEASE NOTE: Every hotel, restaurants and attractions I mention on my blogs are not sponsored reviews and we always paid the full price when visiting. We give our own opinion of the place and detail our experience, good or bad.
WHAT TO SEE IN THE PARK
ATTRACTIONS
1 – The Cave – Caverna do Diabo – ***
2 – The trails
3 – Cachoeira do Araça
4 – Mirante do Governador
5 – Vale das Ostras
6 – Queda do Meu Deus
WHERE TO STAY
ACCOMMODATION
1 – Refúgio Encantado – £
2 – Vila Koh Phi Phi – ££
3 – Recanto das Águas – ££
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WHERE TO EAT
RESTAURANTS
1 – Restaurante do Núcleo da Caverna do Diabo – £
2 – Craibeira Cozinha Bar – £
3 – Recanto das Águas – £
4 – Boteco do Juca – £
If you tried any of my recommendations above, please send me a message and tell me about your experience good or bad, so I can update the list accordingly. Thanks!
If you enjoyed reading this post you might also like to read:
1 – Itu – São Paulo State
2 – Guaratuba – Paraná State
3 – Balneário Camboriú – Santa Catarina State
4 – Blumenau and Pomerode – Santa Catarina State
5 – Florianópolis – Santa Catarina State
6 – Caverna do Diabo – Eldorado – São Paulo State
7 – Guarujá – São Paulo State – Coming Soon
8 – Aparecida do Norte – São Paulo State – Coming Soon
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