Franz Lindenmayr / Mensch und Höhle

Peruacu 2

(ENGLISH)
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR VISIT TO PERUAÇU
You will soon be visiting the Peruaçu Caves National Park, a magical place where 3
different Brazilian biomes, gigantic caves and many archaeological sites are
concentrated. Since our expedition will access areas within the Park that are completely
wild and completely restricted to ordinary tourists, we needed special authorization from
the Park management to access these places, however some rules must be observed
and followed.
The Peruaçu Caves National Park covers an area of 564 km2, it is larger than the
countries of San Marino, Malta and Liechtenstein combined. Until recently, around 200
caves were known, however, in a recent prospecting work in a still virgin area of the Park,
more than 1,000 new caves were discovered and there is still a large area to be
prospected, which should increase this number even further. The park is in the process
of being recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the natural category, and the
final vote will take place in July. In other words, you could be visiting the youngest World
Heritage Site on the UNESCO list, if this is confirmed, which we believe it will be.
Although there are emergency services such as SAMU and the Fire Department in the
nearby city (60 km), any response time for help to arrive will be many hours, given the
distances and difficult terrain, most of the time on very uneven trails. This is a park with
extremely active fauna, and it is common to encounter wild animals and some dangerous
ones, such as snakes.
THEREFORE, WE ASK THAT YOU PAY ATTENTION TO SOME
INFORMATION THAT WE WILL PROVIDE BELOW AND THAT
WILL BE MANDATORY FOR ALL MEMBERS OF THE
EXPEDITION.
CLOTHING AND EQUIPAMENTS (IMPORTANT)
- Long pants (required)
- Hiking boots (required)
- Lightweight long-sleeved shirts (for protection from the sun on the trail and from
insects) (required)
- Medium-sized backpack – 15 to 20 liters (required)
- Flashlight and spare batteries (required)
- Insect repellent – Icaridin or KBR 3023 - (required – bring your own)
- Helmet (required – it is recommended that you bring your own, but if necessary the
Park can lend you one – if you do not bring your own, please let the coordinator know
upon arrival)
- Snake protection gaiters (It will be provided by the park administration, don't worry
about bringing your own.)
- Cap or hat (recommended)
- Sunscreen (highly recommended)
- Medication (bring your own if you take it. There is no medication in the Park)
- Special food (bring your own if you have any type of special dietary restrictions).
TRAILS AND ACTIVITIES
- On some days, activities are expected to last more than 8 hours of intense
physical activity, especially on the Arco do André trails (quite a bit of physical
effort), Gruta do Brejal (wild area of the park) and Travessia da Gruta do Janelão
with exit via Gruta de Bichos (exceeding the limits of the tourist trail open to
regular tourists). On these trails, we will hike over very rough terrain, for long
distances, little climbs and descents, and walk on rocks. The ambient temperature
on the trails can exceed 32ºC / 89º F. For the safety of the group, participants on
these trails will be required to be in good physical condition and the organization
may deny access to any of these activities if they identify physical limitations on
the part of the participant. If this occurs, the participant must accept without
question. This is for the safety of everyone, the hiker and the group. If such a
restriction occurs for one or more hikers, there will be other visit options in easier areas,
sometimes repeating the visit to a scheduled cave or one already visited on the official
agenda, and there may also be an additional cost to the participant for the expense of
an extra guide if it is necessary to designate someone to accompany them, remembering
that according to Brazilian government regulations, any area for visitation within this park
requires the accompaniment of an accredited guide.
PHOTOS / DRONE
- Photographs / Filming / Drone: the places we will visit are very beautiful and obviously
the hikers will want to take lots of photos and videos. Each participant must bring their
own media equipment. The stopping times during the tour for such recordings will be
determined by the activity coordinator, considering mainly the most beautiful places, the
total distance of the day's activity and the time that will be spent on the whole thing
(longer tours will obviously have less stopping time for taking photos). Although we will
be in caves, in Peruaçu the most beautiful images will be taken in daylight, with the light
coming in through the skylights and the several and immense porticos over 100 meters
high. But remember, the stopping times for photographs will be brief and in places
predetermined by the organization so as not to affect the travel time of the entire group.
If a participant's goal during the trip is exclusively to take artistic or professional
photographs and does not cover the entire planned route, we can consider the possibility
of assigning a guide to accompany him/her (there will be an extra cost for this guide). In
this case, as we know that photographs in caves take a long time to produce, visits to
the Bichos, Brejal, Arco do André and Cascudos caves will be excluded from this
participant's schedule, as they are distant destinations where the round trip requires a
whole day of walking, and the stopping time for photographs would be very short. All
other scheduled visits can be carried out normally and are beautiful for photos, and the
photographer can do so with ease with an exclusive guide.
CIGARETTES / ALCOHOLIC DRINKS
- Completely prohibited inside the Park. The use of these is considered a serious
offense.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Alert: Wearing long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and insect repellent is highly
recommended. The entire northern part of the state of Minas Gerais is a common area
for the Phlebotomus (a type of small mosquito) that in some cases can transmit the
protozoan Leishmaniasis, which causes a skin wound that can appear months after the
bite and the cure depends exclusively on a specific medication. But don't worry,
preventing mosquitoes is quite simple and easy, just wear long pants, a long-sleeved
shirt and an Icaridin-based insect repellent or KBR3023. Buy and bring your own insect
repellent, it will make all the difference.
ACCOMMODATION
Montes Claros – Amsterdam Hotel
Januária – Viva Maria Hotel
Peruaçu – Pousada Recanto das Pedras (Simple Local Hosting - Pet Friendly - dogs
and cats are common in this location)
IMPORTANT: All accommodation will be in double rooms, mainly at the Local Inn -
Recanto das Pedras - in Parque do Peruaçu, as it is a pleasant, rural-style environment,
but small and with few units, so you will need to share the room with another participant
on our expedition. All rooms have their own bathroom. If
FOOD
- Colonial breakfast (bread, ham, cheese, milk, juice, tea, fruit, vegetables, egg, bacon,
yogurt, cake, pie, jelly, etc.)
- Lunch/Dinner: typical regional food (rice, beans, free-range chicken, beef, fish,
salads, pasta, potato, pumpkin, eggs, vegetables, etc.)
- Trail snack: snack (bread, cheese, ham), cereal bar, regional fruit, juice.
For people with gluten, lactose or vegan restrictions, there will be alternative food
options, just let us know immediately so we have time to organize.
TEMPERATURE
July/August is the driest season in the region, there will be no rain, it is hot
during the day (32ºC / 89º F) and the temperature drops quickly at night after 9:00
pm and can reach 12ºC / 53.6ºF in the early hours of the morning.
OFFICIAL PROGRAM / SCHEDULE
Group 1 - Pre-Congress Activities
D1 - Jul/13 Transfer from Montes Claros to Peruaçu (200 kilometers). Technical
Lecture and EASY TRAIL ACTIVITY to visit Rezar Cave.
D2 - Jul/14 EASY TRAIL ACTIVITY to visit caves: Caboclos / Carlúcio / and LONG
AND DIFFICULT TRAIL ACTIVITY to visit Brejal Cave
D3 - Jul/15 MEDIUM TRAIL ACTIVITY to Visit caves: Índios, Boquete, Abrigo Monte
Sião, Mirante do Mundo Inteiro, Desenhos / and LONG AND DIFFICULT TRAIL
ACTIVITY to visit caves: Arco Andre, Cascudo, Troncos
D4 - Jul/16 EASY TRAIL ACTIVITY Visit Caves Bonita, Buraco dos Macacos, São
Francisco River and Sunset Itacarambi Downtown
D5 - Jul/17 MEDIUM TRAIL ACTIVITY - Visit Janelão Cave – Turistic Zone and part of
Dark Zone / and LONG AND DIFFICULT TRAIL ACTIVITY Janelão Cave – Across all
dark zone and Bichos Cave
D6 - Jul/18 VERY EASY ACTIVITY São Francisco River Beach – Lodging in Januária
D7 - Jul/19 Transfer from Januaria to Montes Claros and closing

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