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The municipality of Iraquara is located in the center of Bahia, in Chapada Diamantina, being a tourist spot for having caves such as Pratinha, Lapa Doce, Torrinha, Gruta Azul, Gruta da Fumaça, among others.
Iraquara is located on a real underground gallery with a “Swiss cheese” aspect covered by water, which makes it the municipality with the second largest water table in Brazil and the richest in water resources in Chapada Diamantina and Microregion of Irecê, helping the municipalities of the region several times in times of drought.
In addition to the many open wells in rural and urban areas, the municipality also has rivers and waterfalls, ideal for water sports and adventure.
Those who visit Iraquara can also enjoy the natural beauty of Fazenda Pratinha, a true aquatic paradise with natural pools. Elected the third most crystalline water in the world, the place not by chance received the title of “Oasis of the Sertão”;
Map of the Trails and Tourist Spots of Chapada Diamantina
Video about the Pratinha Caves, Lapa Doce, Torrinha, Azul and Gruta da Fumaça
Caverna da Lapa Doce
Mergulho na Gruta da Pratinha
Iraquara na Chapada Diamantina
Gruta da Fumaça em Iraquara08:36
Gruta da Torrinha em Iraquara25:49
Main caves of the municipality of Iraquara
1. Gruta da Pratinha and Gruta Azul
Seven kilometers ahead you arrive at the Fazenda da Pratinha, where the Gruta Pratinha and the Gruta Azul are located.
With the same transparent and blue water of the Poço Encantado and Poço Azul, the lake of the Blue cave is hidden under the aerial roots of a tree of the farm and has communication with the Pratinha. To reach it there is a small but steep descent.
Bathing in the cave is not allowed.
The river of the same name, with its blue and silver hues, flows from the Pratinha Cave. Diving in the cave to observe the formations and fish is the main attraction.
One of the curiosities of this lagoon is the microbuzios, or what is left of them. Part of these tiny shells that lined the riverbed were trampled and destroyed.
The aquatic plants, once abundant in the Pratinha River, have also suffered human interference. Currently, the river looks more like a swimming pool.
2. Lapa Doce Cave
Located in the municipality of Iraquara (BA), with the entrance from a beautiful dolina (external depression formed by erosion of limestone material), it is part of a complex of limestone caves known as Lapa Doce I, II and III.
The Lapa Doce Cave is wide, airy and almost all flat and differs from most caves in the region – the Caverna da Torrinha has narrow galleries and Lapão, uneven terrain.
Of its three halls, only one can be visited.
Privileged by the great concentration of caves in its lands, Iraquara has three of the most beautiful and visited of Chapada Diamantina – not counting the Gruta Torrinha.
In Gruta da Lapa Doce, of the 22 km mapped, only 850 meters are open to visitors.
Its doline (external depression formed by the dissolution or collapse of limestone material) surprises by its grandeur – 72 meters high. Its largest hall is not far behind: it is 60 meters wide.
Only the latter is allowed to be visited, always with groups of no more than 12 people, accompanied by a guide. Topographical surveys are under way in the other two caves.
Cave number three is closed for studies and cave number two, with 14 km mapped, has a closed exit.
Its formations include travertine lakes, curtains, angel wings and the chandelier.
In the Lapa Doce Cave flows a river that flows into Pratinha, where the albino catfish also lives – similar to that found in the Encantado and Azul wells.
The complex is under the administration of the owner of Fazenda Lapa Doce, Simpliciano de Oliveira Lima, of the Bahia Speleological Society.
Inside Lapa Doce III are formations of rare beauty, including the effect on a speleothem (cave formation) caused by deforestation on the surface, which allows water to enter with clay resulting in reddish tones contrasting with the white of the calcite.
3. Pratinha Cave
Located in the municipality of Iraquara (BA), it is a limestone cave formed by the same groundwater table as the Blue Cave.
The entrance to the cave has to be done by water, with appropriate equipment for swimming and diving, entering the Santo Antônio river from the point where it emerges to the outside again.
To swim into the cave you need a guide.
You pay a fee to have the right to also visit the Blue Grotto – to dive there is an additional fee.
Fazenda Pratinha, which manages both caves, is located in the municipality of Iraquara (nine kilometers of land from BA-432).
There are facilities for snacks, lunch and rental of diving equipment.
4. Gruta da Fumaça
Gruta da Fumaça, 10 km from Iraquara, is not large and appeals to everyone who wants to know a beautiful cave, without making great effort. This cave is one of the most beautiful and complete in Chapada Diamantina and offers a good diversity of formations, such as stalactites, stalagmites and speleothems.
The cave is really beautiful and is considered one of the richest geological formations in our country, due to the diversity of speleothems (rocks formed inside caves);
The highlight of the cave is in the final hall, where the ceiling is full of stalactites that, so thin, resemble a sky of needles and, as the ceiling is low, you can see everything very closely.
5. Torrinha Cave
The cave known as Gruta da Torrinha is located 15 km from the city of Iraquara, Bahia within the Chapada Diamantina National Park area and is considered the most beautiful and ornate in the state.
The rock formations inside this cave have very different shapes such as elephant, flowers and owl.
The highlight is the aragonite flower inside, which is the second largest in the world;
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