It is neither a tale nor an urban legend from the big cities. In La Plata there is a cave that has been baptized as La Gruta and for some time now it has been the target of various excursions that go in search of its mystique and the powers, that to some, it possesses.
Those who reach it say that the best time of the day to discover the spell that La Gruta has on its visitors is at sunset when the sunbeams start to lose their strength.
When the main lake of Paseo del Bosque features a curved shape, a kind of magic cave is formed for the joy of kids as well as adults with stories of elves and fairies. Its bright external whiteness fades away as we get close to it and the colors of its surroundings start to change as soon as we enter it.
The first thing to do is close your eyes. Once we do that, it is best to quietly appreciate the whisper and the sound of steps coming near and let our imagination soar for a while.
Whether you make a right or left, go up or down, the truth is that once inside the alternatives to experience the cave are countless. Darkness dominates until a ray of light takes us back to the real world.
The Echo Game
The acoustics which accurately produces different notes of the staff is something that highlights this dream-like cavern.
Water falls on a pond harmoniously and that is how the natural cascade is formed. It charms those who watch and creates a mist crossed by some rays of sun thus forming a magic rainbow that could have been taken from a children's book.
There are some narrow streets full of little shells that creak under the visitors’ feet outside the cave. And an arbor invites everyone to sit while keeping in their memory the kisses of those who once visited it.
On one of the bridges there is a small arm of the lake from where it is still possible to see one side of La Gruta. There is a great variety of rubber trees, eucalyptus, pine and palm trees that hug the cave and form a green crown on top of it producing a fresh scent.
There is a water circle in the cascade and it is worthwhile getting wet with its mist. For a moment everything stops and surprised eyes can see an indescribable scene.
La Gruta is one of those places where elves and fairies will certainly not be found but it is a place from which tourists will go back to a little different reality, as if they were changed. As if someone or something would have said that there is another world. That is why it is called the Magical Cave.