CAVERNAS DE SAN LÁZARO

The Vallemí region is the most limestone area in the country. The dozens of caves that have been explored represent only a tiny fraction (3%) of the caves yet to be discovered! Caving is the region's main tourist activity. Guides take inquisitive tourists and caving enthusiasts alike. The easiest formation to access (by boat) is the Peñón Kamba Hopo, a cavern in a rocky promontory on the river's edge. The view of the Río Paraguay from inside is most photogenic, especially at sunset. The main caves to visit are located near the village of San Lázaro, north of Vallemí, close to the Apá River, which forms the border with Brazil. The San Lázaro and Santa Elena caves are full of underground surprises. Access requires the accompaniment of a certified guide, who is expected to provide equipment (helmets, harnesses, ropes, lanterns). The Santa Caverna, in the community of Tres Cerros, is also home to beautiful stalactites (created by the drip that descends from the limestone vault) and stalagmites (concretions rising from the ground). The works created by the millennia-old work of water are admirable, such as the stalagmite that gave its name to the cave, because of its sculpture-like shape of a saint, or the one evoking the strings of a harp. You can also admire a six-metre-high stalactite. Knowing that a stalactite takes about a centimetre to form every century, you can calculate its age!