The windows
Sunlight inside the cave.
Edgar Corrêa Kanaykõ — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Rafael Rodrigues Camargo — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Manu Alves — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rafael Rodrigues Camargo — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Godoi vera — CC BY-SA 3.0
The Janelão cave, the «Big Window», is the largest in the Peruaçu valley, with 4,740 metres of horizontal passage and the Peruaçu River itself flowing through it. It takes its name from the enormous openings in its roof, which let sunlight into the cave so that small, graceful forests resembling Japanese gardens grow beneath them along the river banks, under trees outside that reach sixty metres tall. The cave holds the longest stalactite ever recorded, 28 metres long, which guides call the «Ballerina's Leg». The visitor route runs about three and a half kilometres beneath the successive skylights, among stalagmites, stalactites and rock formations, starting from a huge doline, a collapse pit, from which the first two openings appear as windows into the cave. Rock paintings in strong colours cover the walls near the entrance. It is one of the park's hardest and finest trails, with long walking and climbs over rocks and steps, and is only visited with a licensed guide under a daily cap. Wear good shoes, carry plenty of water and book ahead, especially in holidays.
Sunlight inside the cave.
The longest stalactite.
Forests under the openings.
Cavernas do Peruaçu National Park, Januária, Minas Gerais
Its huge roof openings, which let small forests grow inside, and the longest stalactite ever recorded, at 28 metres.