Campinhos

Parque Estadual de Campinhos is a protected area located in the municipalities of Cerro Azul and Tunas do Paraná, in the Ribeira Valley region of the state of Paraná, Brazil. Covering approximately 336 hectares, the park is famous for its spectacular karst cave system, one of the most accessible and well-developed cave tourism destinations in southern Brazil. The park contains the Campinhos cave complex — a series of interconnected limestone caverns featuring impressive speleothems including stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and flowstones. Beyond its geological attractions, the park protects an important remnant of Mixed Ombrophilous Forest (Araucaria Forest), a subtropical Atlantic Forest subtype dominated by Araucaria angustifolia (Paraná pine). The park is managed by IAT (Instituto Água e Terra) and welcomes tens of thousands of visitors annually.

Campinhos and the surrounding Ribeira Valley contain one of the most significant cave wildlife communities in Brazil. The Campinhos cave system is particularly important as a hibernation and maternity roost site for multiple bat species, with colonies numbering in the thousands. Species recorded include fruit bats and insectivorous bats of several genera. The cave ecosystem also supports invertebrates specially adapted to the subterranean environment, including endemic troglobitic (cave-obligate) arthropods found nowhere else on Earth. The surrounding Araucaria forest supports mammals including the white-eared opossum, porcupine, coati, and brocket deer. Forest birds typical of the Mixed Ombrophilous Forest, including the vinaceous-breasted amazon (Amazona vinacea, endangered) and various woodpecker species, inhabit the park.

The park's upland vegetation is Mixed Ombrophilous Forest (Floresta Ombrófila Mista), also called Araucaria Forest, dominated by the iconic Araucaria angustifolia (Paraná pine). This conifer, with its distinctive flat-topped canopy and edible seeds (pinhões), defines the landscape of the Paraná highlands. Associated species include imbuia (Ocotea porosa), bracatinga (Mimosa scabrella), and various Myrtaceae. Ferns, bromeliads, and orchids are abundant in the understory and on the bark of larger trees. Along stream margins, gallery forests with moisture-loving species transition into the drier upland. In the cave vicinity, shade-tolerant plants adapted to low-light conditions grow near cave entrances. The Araucaria Forest is critically endangered; over 97% has been cleared since European settlement, making Campinhos' intact stands particularly valuable.

Campinhos is situated on the Ribeira Valley karst, a limestone terrain formed from the dissolution of Precambrian carbonate rocks by slightly acidic groundwater. The Açungui Group limestone and calcite-rich metasedimentary rocks of the Ribeira fold belt host the cave system. Over hundreds of thousands of years, percolating groundwater dissolved the soluble rock along fractures and bedding planes, creating the interconnected galleries and chambers that make up the Campinhos cave complex. Inside the caves, the precipitation of calcium carbonate from dripping groundwater has built an extraordinary gallery of speleothems: stalactites hanging from the ceiling, stalagmites rising from the floor, columns where the two have merged, curtains, helictites, and rimstone pools. The Ribeira Valley's karst landscape is among the most extensive in Brazil.

The Campinhos region experiences a humid subtropical highland climate (Cfb), cooler and wetter than lowland Paraná due to its elevation in the Ribeira Valley highlands. Mean annual temperatures average 16–18°C, with cold winters where temperatures regularly fall below 10°C and occasional frosts. Summer months (November–March) are warm and rainy. Annual precipitation averages 1,400–1,800 mm, distributed throughout the year without a pronounced dry season. The cave interior maintains a remarkably stable temperature year-round, typically around 15–16°C regardless of outdoor conditions, creating a refreshing respite from summer heat and a surprisingly warm refuge in winter. The stable cave microclimate is essential for the bat colonies and cave fauna that depend on predictable conditions.

The Ribeira Valley region of Paraná has a long history of human occupation. Indigenous groups including the Kaigang and Guarani used the region's rivers, forests, and caves. The caves at Campinhos may have served as shelter for indigenous peoples, though systematic archaeological investigation has not yet fully documented pre-colonial use of the site. Portuguese colonization of the Ribeira Valley occurred from the 17th century onward, initially driven by gold prospecting in the valley's rivers. The region later became an important route between the coast and the Paraná interior plateau. The Araucaria forest of the highlands was exploited heavily for timber and pinhão collection by settler communities through the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Parque Estadual de Campinhos was established in 1960, making it one of the oldest state parks in Paraná. The park was created primarily to protect the Campinhos cave system after recognition of its exceptional geological and biological value. Management has been under IAT and its predecessor agencies throughout the park's history. Over the decades, the park has developed structured cave tourism with guided visits, lighting in portions of the cave, and visitor infrastructure, making it one of Brazil's most visited cave systems. The park has also been recognized for the importance of its Araucaria Forest remnant and for the nationally significant bat roosting sites within the cave complex. Campinhos has served as a model for cave tourism management in Brazil.

The main attraction of Campinhos is the cave tour — guided visits through the illuminated portions of the Campinhos cave system, showcasing an extraordinary range of speleothems. The caves are particularly famous for their stalactites and stalagmites and the experience of observing bats (and hearing their echolocation clicks) in the twilight zone of the caverns. Multiple cave chambers are accessible on the standard tour. Outside the caves, walking trails through the Araucaria forest offer a beautiful highland forest experience. The park's visitor area includes a picnic zone, botanical garden with native Araucaria species, and interpretive facilities. During winter months, the surrounding forests display the characteristic yellow-green pinhão fruits attractive to wildlife and traditional foragers.

Campinhos is one of the most visitor-ready parks in Paraná's state system. The park has a well-established visitor center, restrooms, parking, a structured trail network, and guided cave tours that operate on a set schedule. Entry requires purchase of a ticket and joining a guided group — independent entry into the caves is not permitted to protect the formations and bat colonies. The park is accessible from Curitiba (approximately 90 km northeast) via the BR-476 road and the Ribeira Valley highway network. Day trips from Curitiba are a popular and easy excursion. The towns of Cerro Azul and Tunas do Paraná have basic services for visitors. Curitiba itself offers extensive accommodation and logistics for those based in the capital.

Cave ecosystems are among the most fragile and slow-regenerating on Earth — broken speleothems may take thousands of years to reform. Campinhos' management prioritizes formation protection through mandatory guided tours, designated pathways, and prohibition of touching speleothems. Artificial lighting in the cave is managed to minimize algae growth ('lampenflora'), which can damage formations. The bat colonies are monitored and disturbance is minimized during sensitive reproductive and hibernation periods. Groundwater quality protection is a priority, as chemical pollutants in surface water above the cave can contaminate the dripping water that forms speleothems and sustains the cave ecosystem. The surrounding Araucaria forest is protected as the critical catchment for cave recharge. IAT engages with local communities on sustainable tourism and forest conservation.