[2] The park adjoins the 1,592,550 hectares (3,935,300 acres) Serra da Ibiapaba Environmental Protection Area to the west.

It has the objectives of preserving natural ecosystems of great ecological relevance and scenic beauty, enabling scientific research, environmental education, outdoors recreation and eco-tourism.

[2] Protected species in the park include the oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus), cougar (Puma concolor), Maranhão red-handed howler (Alouatta ululata), the variable antshrike (Thamnophilus caerulescens) and the frogs Adelophryne baturitensis and Adelophryne maranguapensis.

Set in a hillside in the Ibiapaba Mountains, 320 kilometres from Fortaleza, the grotto has impressive stalactite and stalagmite formations, the result of nature's patient work with limestone and water over many thousands of years - each centimetre of crystallised growth takes three years to form.

Other attractions in the Ibiapaba mountains include Morro do Céu, 820 metres high, and Pedra de Itagurussu, the source of the Pirangi waterfall.