SEC-S15W5: My country is unique because of this... PETAR

^{Original image made on Canva.}

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This is @massola 's entry for the "SEC-S15W5: My country is unique because of this" hosted by the "Comunidad Latina" Community.
I hereby declare that this is my own work, created directly from Brasil on the 17th of February, 2024.
I hope you enjoy the reading, and good luck to all the participants! :)

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What is that place that you think makes your country unique and why?

One of the things that make Brasil a special place in our planet is its nature, that unfortunately hasn't been treat the way it deserves throughout most of our existence after the colonization process by the Portuguese. From Pau-Brasil to Eucalyptus, the Brazilian nature has been explored incessantly up to nowadays, and the power and money of the people who profit with the destruction of our biological life is just too damn big.

At the same time, there's a lot of richness in the Brazilian relief, from the extremes of Amapá, to the coldness of the Serra Gaúcha. One of these natural treasures is located at the Parque Estadual Turístico do Alto Ribeira, or PETAR for short, and the name of this enormous cave entrance is Casa de Pedra, or Stone House in a free translation.

^{Left: original photo of the entrance taken by me, from the first spot I ever saw it live;
Photo available at Shutterstock.
Right: a reproduction of the photo I made in MDF Wood, using a CNC Laser machine to engrave it.}

As stated in its official site, in a free translation, "the Alto Ribeira Tourist State Park, or PETAR, is considered one of the most important conservation units in the world. It hosts the largest preserved portion of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil and over 300 caves. It is currently recognized as a World Heritage site by UNESCO."

The Casa de Pedra cave entrance has got an astonishing height of around 250 meters, making it the biggest in the world! The cave was formed by the Maximiniano River, that cuts through the mountain. The way to get there is not easy, but the adventure is definitely worth the while; I can safely say I've never experienced a feeling of awe as singular as the one of when we finally got there. It's indescribable the how small you feel in comparison of the gigantic hole in the rocks.

When did you go? Is it free or do you have to pay for an entrance fee?

I went there two years ago, in the Carnaval holiday of 2022. There was an entry fee of R$32 (around U$6,50 in today's exchange rate) to enter the park, but there is a 50% discpunt for Brazilians, and a 25% discount for citizens from countries members of the Mercosul.

Would you go again? Who would you take there?

I not only would go again, as I am actively planning on going again! I went the first time with two of my best friends, and we now need to take my parents and my brother to visit this singular place on Earth.

Were there people there? Did you interact with them?

Yes, there were a lot of people that live there in the town within the park, as well as living in the cities close to it. The tourist guide that accompanied us was a local and incredible man, that thaught us a lot about the local culture and history of the park and region, that sadly hasn't had too much investment and help from the Government of the State of São Paulo... The region is the home of a lot of Quilombos, communities of ex-slaves that managed to escape their horrible life conditions and to structure a better living far from the racist society. Nowadays, a lot of the Quilombola people work in the park and region, strengthening the culture and teaching about the region's interesting history.

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Thanks for reading up to here, I hope it was worth it!

I've not been as active on this blockchain for some 6 years now, but would love to just register the invite to three special Braziluan accounts to me, more to honor them and thank them for the journey up to here, especially this post's theme being about a wonderful place in Brasil.

@wagnertamanaha
@casagrande
@estourefugiado

All the photos presented in this post are the author's original work and should not be copied without permission or acknowledgement. Photos were taken with a Samsung Galaxy S20FE, and are available in Shutterstock.