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Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave: Explore the Mysterious Mayan Underworld and Enjoy a Local Lunch
4.8
192 Ratings
San Ignacio
Embark on a thrilling adventure to Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave, the mysterious Mayan underworld. Swim through crystalline waters, explore hidden chambers, and enjoy a local lunch.
Embark on a thrilling adventure to Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave, the mysterious Mayan underworld. Swim through crystalline waters, explore hidden chambers, and enjoy a local lunch.
Duration:
7 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- ATM Cave Belize - Actun Tunichil Muknal - The journey begins with a one-hour drive to the parking area. An experienced guide will lead the group on a gentle 35-minute hike to the cave’s entrance. The path follows the Roaring River, which must be crossed three times before reaching the cave. Before entering, the guide will provide a historical…
- ATM Cave Belize - Actun Tunichil Muknal - The journey begins with a one-hour drive to the parking area. An experienced guide will lead the group on a gentle 35-minute hike to the cave’s entrance. The path follows the Roaring River, which must be crossed three times before reaching the cave. Before entering, the guide will provide a historical overview and a safety briefing. The water passage offers a playful experience as participants wade through water that can reach from ankle to neck height, sometimes requiring swimming. At a certain point, a climb to a ledge reveals one of the cave’s most captivating sections, where archaeologists have discovered over 1,000 pottery pieces and 19 human sacrifices. To explore this chamber, shoes must be removed to preserve the natural environment, which includes stunning formations such as rock columns, stalactites, stalagmites, citrines, and flowstones. The guide will share intriguing insights into the ancient Mayan rituals and ceremonies that took place deep underground.
What's Included
- Local guide
- Use of all necessary equipment
- Entrance fees
- Local Lunch (Stew Chicken Rice and beans or Vegetarian option)
- Juice
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Bottled water
- Local guide
- Use of all necessary equipment
- Entrance fees
- Local Lunch (Stew Chicken Rice and beans or Vegetarian option)
- Juice
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Bottled water
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off outside of San Ignacio Town
- Gratuities
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off outside of San Ignacio Town
Additional Information
Discover the secret chambers and sparkling waters of the Mayan underworld at Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM), as highlighted in National Geographic! Dive into this enigmatic cave, which the ancient Mayas believed to be a gateway to the underworld, called Xibalba. This excursion from San Ignacio features a 1.5-hour round-trip hike in Tapir Nature Reserve and…
Discover the secret chambers and sparkling waters of the Mayan underworld at Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM), as highlighted in National Geographic! Dive into this enigmatic cave, which the ancient Mayas believed to be a gateway to the underworld, called Xibalba. This excursion from San Ignacio features a 1.5-hour round-trip hike in Tapir Nature Reserve and includes a delightful local lunch. Climb, crawl, swim, and enjoy the water passage as you explore the caverns, and relish the invigorating waters of the Roaring River before and after your caving adventure.
- Minimum height requirement is 40 inches
- It is recommended that you wear closed-toe shoes, comfortable clothing (short Pants, Long pants, T-shirt or long Sleeve) that can get wet, a change of clothes.
- Hotel pick up and drop off is for hotels within San Ignacio town limits. For hotels outside of San Ignacio, a surcharge applies.
- Pair of socks is required as portions of the cave shoes are removed.
- Bring reusable Water bottle
- No cameras allowed
Location
46 Burns Avenue
Burns Avenue
Unit # 2 inside the Belize Caving Expeditions Office
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(192 Ratings)
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David_j
May 2, 2026
Best tour ever! - Absolutely worth doing. The history of these caves is fascinating, and the experience of visiting is second to none! Don’t pass this up. Ask for Akim as your guide, he is the best.
Review provided by Viator
J_t
Apr 5, 2026
Must-do activity in one's... - Must-do activity in one's life! This is not only a journey to explore Mayan culture, but also a thrilling cave adventure. Our guide was quite friendly, and provides a very detailed tour of the cave.
Review provided by Viator
Marsha_s
Mar 1, 2026
This was a once in a... - This was a once in a lifetime experience and Miguel was a great host! Super informative and interactive, with great directions. Food was delightful at the end as well. Definitely do the morning tour to beat the crowds.
Review provided by Viator
Andrea_h
Jan 28, 2026
Amazing ATM Cave tour—one... - Amazing ATM Cave tour—one of the highlights of our Belize trip. The cave itself is absolutely incredible and such a unique adventure. Our guide, Gilroy, was excellent: very nice, incredibly knowledgeable, and funny, which made the experience even better. Highly recommend that you book this experience if you can!
Review provided by Viator
Malka_f
Jan 4, 2026
Once in a lifetime excursion - Absolutely amazing experience and Miguel was so good with our 8 year old son! He let him hold onto him and guided him but also let him feel independent and accomplished when appropriate. Everyone had a great time! Such a special once in a lifetime experience!
Review provided by Viator
Beth_w
Dec 31, 2025
What an amazing... - What an amazing experience! The hike through the jungle with the river crossings was a nice lead up to the main attraction. The cave adventure was so much fun for the whole family! The cave itself was beautiful and awe inspiring- definitely the highlight of our trip.
Review provided by Viator
Explore823127
Dec 24, 2025
amazing and interesting day and great tour - My friends and I had such an amazing day at ATM with Mayawalk Tours, particuarly our great guides Francis and Emil. Walking/swimming/wading through the cave was like nothing we had done before. Many parts of the cave were beautiful and we learned so much from Francis about the cave, the Mayan offerings, and history of the Mayans, the cave, and the country. (Emil took another group). Francis told us exactly where to step and what to do to ensure that we got through as easily as possible. Then we had a delicious local lunch made by other members of the team who were so friendly. And on the bus on the way there, Emil shared with us a lot of interesting information about the Belizian people and the country. Definitely take a tour with Mayawalk and ask for Francis and Emil
Review provided by Tripadvisor
April_y
Dec 17, 2025
One of the BEST travel... - One of the BEST travel experiences I’ve ever had (I’ve been to 43 countries). I brought my mom who is almost 70 and very active. She was fine (a few rock scrapes) but please make sure you have decent physical skills, especially agility.
Hot tips: put dry socks in your helmet, bring a water bottle. Water shoes are fine if they have textured rubber soles. Short sleeve, not long sleeve. Pants if you’re concerned with scraping your legs, otherwise shorts are more comfortable as you’ll be soaking wet the entire time. You get into chest deep water a few minutes into the 45minute hike to the caves. Water bottles are left just outside the cave entrance.
Review provided by Viator
Leslie_w
Jan 1, 2026
Cant get a refund for a cancelled tour due to weather - This activity was cancelled due to poor weather and we cant get a refund. Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave with Local Lunch from San Ignacio
Tue, Dec 30, 2025 • 7:00 AM • 2 Adults
Review provided by Viator
Clairei7438tv
Dec 26, 2025
Be aware that this trip can be canceled at anytime due to water levels - Our trip was unfortunately canceled due to dangerously high water levels after days of rain. This was December .. supposedly dry season. Of course this was no-ones fault ... but was incredibly disappointing. This was supposed to have been the highlight of our trip to San Ignacio .
Just be aware that this can happen anytime of the year.
Communication with the company was a little erratic, and they had promised to let us know as soon as possible in the morning of the trip whether it would go ahead. However I heard nothing from them and had to reach out to them to find out. They did not help us at all with the refund process and it is taking days to get Trip Advisor to " investigate " the situation.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
