In The Wild Brazil's video: Chapada Diamantina Pratinha Lapa Doce Cave Brazil s Top National Park travel tips

# tourism The Chapada Diamantina National Park (Portuguese: Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina) is a national park in the Chapada Diamantina region of the State of Bahia, Brazil. The terrain is rugged, and mainly covered by flora of the Caatinga biome. The park is classed as IUCN protected area category II (national park). It has the objectives of preserving natural ecosystems of great ecological relevance and scenic beauty, enabling scientific research, environmental education, outdoors recreation and eco-tourism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapada_Diamantina_National_Park The Best of Brazil . The region became famous during the 19th century for the Diamond exploration, that lasted until 1990, when the National Park was finally founded, considered today one of the most beautiful National Parks in Brazil. Pratinha Gruta da Pratinha near Chapada Diamantina National Park is simply beautiful. The crystal clear waters allow you to see quite a bit of the rock formations, and small fish that inhabit the grotto . The grotto is northwest of the Chapada Diamantina National Park and belongs a company Fazenda Pratinha that charges the entry fee, they also offer many activitiesas as Caiaque, Underwater Pictures, Fluctuation, Zip Line and others for which you have to pay extra. Lapa Doce Cave Over 16 miles of the Lapa Doce system have been mapped, but less than 1 mile is open to tourism. Consisting of large galleries which can be nearly 200 feet wide and 90 feet tall, the cave known as Lapa Doce I is rich in speleothems - formations such as stalactites, stalagmites and columns - sculpted by water circulation, dripping, condensation and other processes into shapes which have been named the Nativity Scene, Angel, Sugarloaf, Dog, and so on. The path includes a descent of about 230 feet. The cave tour lasts about one hour and a half. Part of the galleries is roped off for protection of the surfaces; no more than 12 people at a time can take the tour, which moves away from the broad cave entrance towards the back at a leisurely pace. At one point on the tour, the guide asks the group if it's OK to turn off the lantern so you can experience complete darkness. At our group's request, he did it twice - a memorable experience in the depths of Chapada Diamantina. http://gobrazil.about.com/od/Chapada-Diamantina/ss/Lapa-Doce.htm