Furna do Enxofre Visitors Centre

Located in the Caldeira da Graciosa Natural Monument, the Furna do Enxofre Visitors Centre is the Centre of the Biosphere Reserve and the Graciosa Nature Park while also acting as the entrance to the Furna do Enxofre.

The Centre helps the visitors understand the volcanic processes that originated the island and, in particular, the Furna do Enxofre and the Caldeira. The exhibition includes several information panels, monitors that show the detected gas values within the Furna (cave), and also images and documentaries illustrating the natural and cultural values of Graciosa.

With two floors, it is a building that respects the environmental quality in complete harmony with the values of geodiversity and biodiversity, landscape and aesthetic balance.

On the ground floor, there is an exhibition area and, on the upper floor, a reception area reserved for the disclosure, awareness and observation of the landscape and the entrance to the Furna.

Going down the staircase, with 183 steps and 37 metres high, visitors can see an imposing cave, 194 metres long and 50 metres high at its centre, which reveals a stunning ceiling with a perfect dome, the largest volcanic dome in Europe, covered by small stalactites and having, in its deepest zone, a pond with about 11 metres deep. This cave has a fumarolic field, which consists of a fumarole with muddy water and dry gases on the cave floor.