The announcement was made this afternoon from Paris, where the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is meeting.
Protected since 1999, the park encompasses an area of 564 square kilometers of low forest traversed by the Peruaçu River, in the northern region of the state of Minas Gerais.
UNESCO noted that the park is “located at the intersection of the Cerrado, Caatinga, and Atlantic Forest biomes and is home to more than 2,000 species of plants and animals, including many that are threatened.”
This marks the 25th time UNESCO has designated a World Heritage site in Brazil, joining locations such as the Iguaçu Falls and the historic center of the colonial city of Ouro Preto.
“Developed on the stable São Francisco craton, the landscape reflects major climatic and geological changes of the Pliocene-Pleistocene,” UNESCO highlighted about the newly inscribed heritage site.
UNESCO considered that the canyon formed by the Peruaçu River has created “spectacular limestone landscapes, vast caves, and rich biodiversity,” further highlighting the park’s horizontal cave systems “formed in carbonate rock,” according to Efe.
Among the hundreds of cavities in the natural park, the Caverna do Janelão stands out, named for its heights exceeding 100 meters and for being accessible through a large opening in the wall of a canyon.
The national park also features walls covered with prehistoric paintings in various pigments, ranging from yellow to black.
Despite its geological and historical significance, the caves of Peruaçu are the second least visited natural park in Brazil, having received only 14,600 tourists in 2024, according to official data cited by the news agency Efe.
The World Heritage Convention, Cultural and Natural, was adopted by UNESCO in 1972 and aims to “protect heritage assets of outstanding universal value,” as stated on the UNESCO National Commission’s website.
