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An absolute MUST DO activity when you are in Belize, is the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM Cave). Countless tourists come to my little country, simply to do this awe-inspiring cave adventure. The ATM Cave was one of the best experiences of my life.
Getting To the ATM Site in Belize
It is about a 1.5-hour drive from San Ignacio to reach the parking lot for the cave site. During this drive, your guide will explain various facts about our country. This will start to prepare you for the day ahead. Once you reach the parking lot, you will be issued helmets, lights, and life vests. You will need these to begin your adventure. You will start on a 45-minute hike to arrive at the entrance of the cave site. On this hike, you will have to cross a river three times. The first river crossing is about 8 ft. deep and the other two crossings are about knee-deep to ankle-deep. Of course, this all depends on the time of year that you make your visit, and how much it has been raining during that time.
Entering the ATM Cave in Belize
After this hike, you will arrive at the entrance of the cave, where you will have to swim to enter the cave. This part of the water is about 12 ft. deep, and it feels cool and refreshing; I went during an extremely hot time, so the cool water was very much welcomed. You spend about 3 hours in the cave, where you will be spending half the time walking through water that is about waist deep, and the other half will be on dry ground.
Introducing the Dry Chamber in the ATM Cave
To reach the dry chamber in the cave, you will have to climb a rock. I found this to be an easy climb, given that it was not too high, and because my guide showed me exactly where to place my hands and feet as I climbed. On the dry part of the cave, you will get to see Mayan pottery and some skeletal remains. The guide will give you an in-depth history of the activities done in the cave by the ancient Mayans, and why the different skeletal remains are there. The ATM cave is different from other sites because the pottery and skeletal remains are untouched by humans. The anthropologists that discovered the cave left them exactly as they were found. This made me appreciate the history surrounding the cave on a deeper level.
Exiting the ATM Cave
You will also have to climb a 12 ft. ladder. This will be so that you can see a fully intact human body skeleton. This is the main highlight of this tour. At this point, you will turn around and start to exit the cave the same way you entered. One particularly important note is that cameras are, sadly, not allowed on this tour. Many years ago, a tourist dropped his camera on one of the skeletons and broke it. Due to this unfortunate accident, the government banned all cameras from entering the cave.
Mayawalk Tours
I had the privilege of doing this activity with the biggest, and most well-known and respected tour operator in the Cayo District. They provide everyone, who does this tour with them, with stock photos of the cave site. It will not be pictures of you, but it will be pictures of different things you will see on the tour. Their guides are excellent, fun, and extremely knowledgeable. Mayawalk provided delicious food at the end of the tour, and the rum punch was the PERFECT touch to end such an amazing day. They are located on 19 Burns Avenue, which is at the heart of San Ignacio. It is a pathway that is closed off to traffic and is usually bustling with both local and tourist activity. It has several restaurants, gift shops, and hotels.
If you would like a 5% discount on the ATM Tour or any other tour provided by the company Mayawalk Tours, use this code TLTMAYA5 when you are making your booking on their site. You can go to their website www.mayawalk.com to see the other tours and services that they also provide.
Checklist of Essential Things to Bring on the ATM Tour
- Clothing that covers your body. You can wear shorts or leggings, with a tank top or swim shirt. (The ATM cave is a sacred place to us, so the tour operators do not allow anyone to go on the tour with only a swim suit or shirtless. This is to respect the memories of the sacred activities that occurred in the cave.)
- Comfortable hiking footwear or water shoes with a good grip, that covers your toes and straps to/covers your feet.
- At least one litre of drinking water and a few snacks for the hike. (You will have to leave these outside of the cave as you are entering, and then you can retrieve them on your way back to the parking lot.)
- A set of dry clothes that you can change into after your tour is over. (You do not want to be in wet clothes while driving back to your hotel or resort; this is very uncomfortable)
- Tipping the guide and driver is not mandatory, in Belize, but it is widely practiced. If you truly enjoyed the experience, go ahead and leave the guide and driver a tip.
Click here to see a list of all the activities that I recommend you do while in Belize. Send me a message if you have any questions or would like help to choose the best activity for you. I love hearing from my readers and will respond to all of your messages.
THE BEST ADVICE IS LOCAL ADVICE
