Gruta do Carvão - Monumento Natural
Gruta do Carvão - Monumento Natural things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
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Located in the western part of Ponta Delgada city, Gruta do Carvão is the longest lava tunnel of São Miguel island and it extends for 1912 metres divided in three separate sections, one to the North ("Paim" Section) with a length of 880, 2 meters, one to the South ("João do Rego" Section) with an extension of 300 meters and an intermediate one ("Secadores de Tabaco","Rua de Lisboa" Section) that is 701.8 meters long. However some old documents and field observations indicate a bigger length than the mapped nowadays and that it might have been more than 5 km long, since coastline until the proximities of Serra Gorda, in Arrifes. With the small guided tour you enter the south section (João do Rego), where was advised to bring a rain coat with you. However, climbing shoes are also a big help. If you'd like to really climb and crawl through caves, you should take the long guided tour where you wear more protection than just the helmet. The tour guide was an enthusiastic young man who was very interested in the workings of vulcanoes. That's why he was such a good tour guide, because he really liked to bring us the exciting information about the ancient old lava tunnels (older than the Egyptian pyramids). The Gruta is definitely worth a visit. It is mandatory to make a reservation up to two hours prior to the visit. ****
Merric McWhorterMerric McWhorter
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In ragione della peculiare natura geologica dell'isola di São Miguel, ci è parso naturale concederci, nell’ambito del nostro viaggio in loco, anche una tappa presso la Gruta do Carvão, interessante cavità sotterranea sita nelle vicinanze di Ponta Delgada. Giunti sul posto verso le 15.00 🕒 direttamente dalla Plantações de Chá Gorreana 🌱 per prendere parte alla visita guidata delle 15.30 🕞 (previa prenotazione 📱), abbiamo parcheggiato 🚘 accanto al centro visitatori portandoci subito all'interno. Dopo una mezz'ora scarsa d'attesa ⏳️, la nostra guida, una giovane e gentile ragazza 👩🏼, si è presentata invitandoci a seguirla. Scendendo le scale siamo quindi arrivati in una sorta di punto di raccolta, presso il quale ci sono stati consegnati i caschetti protettivi 🪖 e fornite le ultime indicazioni circa le avvertenze e le modalità di visita. Assai peculiare l'inizio del percorso dato che, per raggiungere le cavità vere e proprie, bisogna attraversare delle lunghe e cilindriche gallerie in cemento; pur avendo visitato altre grotte come quelle di Postumia 🇸🇮, Valstagna (VI) 🇮🇹, Frasassi (AN) 🇮🇹 e la "Gigante" di Sgonico (TS) 🇮🇹, devo ammettere che non avevo mai visto simili strutture d'accesso. Ad ogni modo, oltre queste ultime ci si trova dinnanzi alle grotte oggetto dell'escursione, la prima assai meno profonda e la seconda decisamente più ampia. Durante il giro 🚶🏻♂️🚶🏻♀️ la nostra guida 👩🏼, peraltro perfettamente bilingue 🇵🇹 🇬🇧, ci ha illustrato le caratteristiche dei vari spazi con grande competenza e cortesia. L'escursione si è infine conclusa sulle 16.30 🕟, all'incirca dopo un'ora. Tariffe oneste dato che il biglietti ci sono costati 8 💶 euro l'uno. Il Wi-Fi 🛜 del centro visitatori in teoria dovrebbe essere a disposizione degli ospiti 🆓️ ma, di fatto, non siamo riusciti ad usufruirne 😑. È sicuramente preferibile prenotare la visita 📱 per tempo; noi infatti, pur avendo prenotato con settimane d'anticipo, ci siamo dovuti accontentare del giro breve visto che i posti per quello lungo erano già finiti. Esperienza CONSIGLIATA 👍. P.S.❗️❗️❗️GOOGLE CENSURA❗️❗️❗️ RECENSIONE RIPUBBLICATA CON QUESTO NUOVO PROFILO CREATO A SEGUITO DEL VERGOGNOSO E INGIUSTIFICATO OSCURAMENTO DEL PRECEDENTE DA PARTE DEGLI AMMINISTRATORI DI GOOGLE ❗️❗️❗️STOP CENSURA❗️❗️❗️
Cogito Ergo SumCogito Ergo Sum
00
Firstly let me say this place is amazing but you have to book in advance. A couple of days for the short tour, and at least 4-6 weeks in advance for the long tour! The short tour is great, about 30-45 mins and you visit two areas. It's really accessible for all ages and full of interesting info. Our guide was funny, well informed and genuinely seemed interested in the caves. Definitely worth a visit. The long tour has limited capacity, in September 2023 it only ran around once a week for 5 people. We were told there are some areas where you would have to crawl a bit and some areas that were quite dark, bar your flashlight; but, if you are up for the adventure it seems very worthwhile.
Krishant UkaKrishant Uka
00
Interesting basic cave visit close to downtown Punta Delgada. You have to reserve your tickets in advance by email or phone which is a bit clunky, and there seemed to be quite a bit of demand so try to book a few days ahead. There are 2 visits a basic short one of about 40 minutes in the closest most accessible part of the cave and with groups of about 20 which i did and a 1.5h deeper into the caves with groups of maximum 5. Running shoes and comfortable clothes are fine they provide a helmet for the small tour and more gear like knee pads etc for longer one. There isn't much parking.
Michael QuigleyMichael Quigley
00
Lava tube cave system. Plenty of scientific facts are given to explain the features you will see. The guides are very friendly and knowledgeable. Two types of tours. Short one last approx. 30 min and you see what's directly below the site. Long tour will let you climb up and through the higher sections of the cave and last probably half a day. Best to book in advance via website or phone. The long tour runs once a week (?) for up to 4 people, while the short one is running several times a day. More information is on their website, including pricing.
JamesonJameson
00
The caves are advertised as being 1.6km in length but the tours on most of the days only allow for exploration of 200m of them and for 8 euros a person, which is super expensive. We decided the price was not worth the experience. The full length of the caves are only available on certain days at certain times, unfortunately. Wouldn't recommend unless planned more thoroughly, not a place to just stop in and explore. And we were only there for a day as our cruise ship was in port. Only cool part was seeing a lizard outside on the walls, lol.
C. MarionC. Marion
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Nearby Restaurants Of Gruta do Carvão - Monumento Natural
Xitaka
King's Bread - Paim
Pizaria O Canadiano
Snack Bar Pizzaria Paraíso
Wok to Walk Parque Atlântico
CAFÉ ROCHA
Villa Paim
Café Snack Bar "Tu & Eu"
Coffe Cups
Bagga Ponta Delgada
Xitaka
4.3
(862)
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King's Bread - Paim
4.2
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Pizaria O Canadiano
4.4
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Snack Bar Pizzaria Paraíso
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Learn more insights from Wanderboat AIBasic Info
Address
R. do Paim, 9500-230 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Map
Phone
+351 961 397 080
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Website
grutadocarvao.com
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Reviews
Overview
4.4
(1.5K reviews)
Ratings & Description
outdoor
adventure
family friendly
Description
The Gruta do Carvão is an ancient lava tube located on the outskirts of the municipality of Ponta Delgada on the island of São Miguel in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores.
attractions: , restaurants: Xitaka, King's Bread - Paim, Pizaria O Canadiano, Snack Bar Pizzaria Paraíso, Wok to Walk Parque Atlântico, CAFÉ ROCHA, Villa Paim, Café Snack Bar "Tu & Eu", Coffe Cups, Bagga Ponta Delgada
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