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Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave: Explore the Mysterious Mayan Underworld and Enjoy a Local Lunch
4.9
167 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 - A scenic drive of one hour and twenty minutes will bring the group to the parking area. An experienced guide will lead the group on a pleasant 45-minute hike to the cave. The path follows the bank of the Roaring River, which will be crossed three times before reaching the cave entrance. Before entering,…
- ATM Cave Belize - Actun Tunichil Muknal - A scenic drive of one hour and twenty minutes will bring the group to the parking area. An experienced guide will lead the group on a pleasant 45-minute hike to the cave. The path follows the bank of the Roaring River, which will be crossed three times before reaching the cave entrance. Before entering, the guide will provide a historical overview and a safety briefing. The water passage offers a fun opportunity to splash and play, with water levels reaching the ankles, knees, waist, and even neck, sometimes requiring swimming. At one point, the group will climb to a ledge to access one of the cave’s most captivating sections, where archaeologists have documented over 1,000 pottery pieces and 19 human sacrifices. To explore this chamber, shoes must be removed to protect the natural environment, including stunning formations like 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
- Hotel pickup and drop-off within San Ignacio Town
- Use of all necessary equipment
- Bottled water
- Lunch
- Local guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off within San Ignacio Town
- Use of all necessary equipment
- Bottled water
- Lunch
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
Explore the hidden chambers and crystalline waters of the Mayan underworld at Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM), featured in National Geographic! Swim into the mysterious cave, which the ancient Mayas considered to be a portal to the underworld, known as Xibalba. This day trip from San Ignacio includes a 1.5-hour round-trip hike in Tapir Nature Reserve and…
Explore the hidden chambers and crystalline waters of the Mayan underworld at Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM), featured in National Geographic! Swim into the mysterious cave, which the ancient Mayas considered to be a portal to the underworld, known as Xibalba. This day trip from San Ignacio includes a 1.5-hour round-trip hike in Tapir Nature Reserve and lunch at the cave entrance. Climb, crawl, swim and play in the water passage as you enter the caverns, and delight in the refreshing waters of the Roaring River before and after your spelunking adventure.
- Minimum height requirement is 40 inches
- It is recommended that you wear closed-toe shoes, comfortable clothing that can get wet, a change of clothes and bug spray.
- 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.
- No cameras allowed
Location
43 Burns Avenue
Burns Avenue
Unit 2
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
4.9
(167 Ratings)
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Jillian_m
Feb 16, 2025
100% would recommend this... - 100% would recommend this tour, we had an amazing time! Our guide Miguel did a wonderful job of explaining the history of the cave and the artifacts/sacrifices inside. Closed toed shoes are a must (I wore tennis shoes) not only because there are slippery areas, but there are rocks you could hurt your feet on if you wore sandals (even Tevas or Danners). I have no caving experience and was able to make it all the way to the end to see the artifacts. You are mostly walking through a creek with some swimming, rock scrambling, and one boulder to climb. This was one of the coolest things I have done, definite bucket list!
Review provided by Viator
Andrea_c
Jan 4, 2025
Loved it! - This tour was amazing!! Definitely not for those who aren't up for activity. The water was up about a foot for our visit, so it was strenuous traversing the river, etc, but it was an amazing experience. Anyone not moved by the sight of children who were used as human sacrifices, even if it was 2000 years ago, shouldn't be visiting. Just incredible. The lunch was also one of the besteals we had in San Ignacio!! Wonderful experience.
Review provided by Viator
Kevin_g
Dec 28, 2024
Do it when in Belize - Great driver and guide. Wonderful cave and history experience. Fun floating through narrow passages on way out.
Review provided by Viator
Richard_p
Dec 26, 2024
Still lucky. - Guides, drivers and staff were the best.
Received quite the experience of intense and extreme thrills and satisfaction. Bring a change of dry clothing and shoes.
Review provided by Viator
Traveler53135293842
Dec 25, 2024
Great experience - Our guide Manny was excellent. Made the experience very fun and informative. The meal afterwards was very good too. A must do if you visit Belize.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sarahirvin
Dec 17, 2024
Once in a lifetime experience! This tour group is great! - Incredible experience! Our tour guide was fun and encouraging when we got nervous about some of the more difficult parts of the cave. I highly recommend it! It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Review provided by Viator
Puja_b
Dec 7, 2024
100% recommend - Perfect day! The driver was friendly, the guide was great. Organized, informative. Warning this activity is not EASY especially for the elderly (50-60+) and especially if you're not in shape. Couple of VERY tight spaces and lot of the time you need to hold up your body weight or crouch down.
Review provided by Viator
Philosophy_w
Dec 6, 2024
Amazing! - This was a once-in-lifetime, bucket list type of experience. The cave is incredible, and seeing Mayan artifacts so close—right by your bare feet!—is amazing. Make sure you bring socks—you have to remove your shoes at a certain point in the cave, so they require you to have them.
Review provided by Viator
834yvetteb
Dec 1, 2024
Unforgettable experience - A truly incredible experience! Highly recommend. I will never forget this excursion. We took kids ages 8-13, and they were absolutely thrilled. You do need to be able to do some climbing and swimming (with a lifejacket).
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rosa_l
Nov 30, 2024
Cool experience, tour company needs work. - The experience of walking through the caves was incredible. I had an amazing time even though I have a fear of darkness and small spaces. The guide made sure that we were all safe and moving along fine with the rest of the group.
The actual artifacts and bones that we saw were a bit less exciting than I imagined they would be. The guide hardly had any real information to tell us about the cave they were left in, it was all just a lot of theories and speculation, plus he rushed us through all the explanations in order to let other groups by so there wasn’t much time to discuss or ask questions.
The company itself is very unorganized in my opinion. There wasn’t much information about what to bring/what not to bring until the morning of. I was told what I was wearing was fine but then after we were already all the way to parking lot of the caves they told me that I needed socks, which I didn’t bring. I also wasn’t aware we weren’t allowed to bring phones or cameras inside the cave, which I can somewhat understand but I wish I was told beforehand. The woman who was in charge of the drive and lunch was a bit rude and very, very unclear with any instructions she gave us.
Overall this was a good experience but only because it was cool to swim and climb through the caves.
Review provided by Viator
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