Listing Type
Tour/Activity Private Guide Shuttle Service Transportation Tour/Activity Vacation Package Private Guide Tour/Activity Rental/Charter Shuttle Service Destination Wedding Vacation Package Tour/Activity Vacation Package Tour/Activity Rental/Charter Vacation Package Tour/Activity Vacation Package Tour/Activity Rental/Charter Destination Wedding Vacation Package Tour/Activity Shuttle Service Destination Wedding Vacation Package Tour/Activity Rental/Charter Shuttle Service Destination Wedding Vacation Package Tour/Activity Destination Wedding Vacation Package Tour/Activity Destination Wedding Vacation Package Tour/Activity Destination Wedding Vacation Package Tour/Activity Vacation Package Private Guide
Main Activity
Departs From
Gold Certified
Intensity Level
Is Transportation provided?
Main Attraction
|
Filter
| Sort By: |
|
Showing 11 - 20
out of 20
On the left map, we grouped Listings that are located close to each other into small circles. Now, you can locate all Listings on the map at the same time. You can also drag & zoom the map.
Circle numbers - Count of Listings that are located in and around that circle.
Colored circles - Listings that are displayed in the list below.
Grey circles - Listings that are displayed on next page(s).
Half colored circles - Some Listings in that circle appear in the list below and some on next page(s).
Click on circles to zoom in or highlight Listings .
page 2 out of 2
(1)
Actun Tunichil Muknal, One of the Top Caves to Visit in Belize
When you step across the entrance to the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) Cave, you’re beginning a journey into the mysterious ... moreunderworld of the Maya. The ATM Cave sometimes called the “Cave of the Stone Sepulchre”, will leave explorers amazed, enlightened, and uplifted.
Rated as the #1 Sacred Cave in the World by National Geographic, the ATM Cave is one of the most important historical sights in the world. Only accessible with a licensed guide, the ATM Cave is an incredibly beautiful underground world filled with glittering stalactites and stalagmites.
But it is its position as a Maya artifact that draws in tourists from around the world. Deep in its underground labyrinth lie the remains of the Crystal Maiden, a young adult who was sacrificed to the Maya gods more than 1,000 years ago. Near her bones, which have taken on a sparkling shine after having fused with the minerals in the cave, lie the remains of more than a dozen other victims, including very young children.
Untame Belize Tours is one of the few companies in Belize to offer authorized guided tours of this cave. Located a short drive from our office in southern Belize, the tour begins with a drive to the ranger post in the Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve. From there, participants must proceed on foot, hiking through the jungle for approximately 45 minutes, crossing three jungle streams along the way.
Once at the mouth of the cave, participants must swim across a spring-fed pool, using a rope for guidance. And then the adventure truly begins, wading through the knee-high water until a network of vast tunnels, chambers, and passageways is reached. Only after climbing up and into a remote ledge deep in the rear of the cave will participants reach the sacred chamber once used by Maya priests.
The ceremonial chamber still contains pottery, obsidian objects, bowls that once contained food offerings, and the famous skeleton of the Crystal Maiden. It takes approximately three hours to explore everything in this cave.
Strict rules in place by the Department of Archeology forbid any cameras inside ATM Cave, but participants will experience a truly remarkable journey into the lost world of the Maya. After exiting the cave, there will be a return hike through the jungle followed by a delicious picnic lunch.
Type of Tour/Activity: Jungle and Rainforest Adventures
ATM Cave is about 7 miles south of the village of Teakettle in the beautiful Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve in the Cayo district. Hike 2 miles through the pristine jungle crossing Roaring ... moreCreek three times to reach the cave entrance with your specially licensed guide. Put on your helmet and headlamp and get ready to swim and clamber into the ancient Maya ritual world.
The first part of the adventure is swimming and wading through the awesome array of stalagmites and stalactites and other limestone feature before reaching the Stella Chamber and the Main Chamber. The Main Chamber is about one kilometer from the cave entrance. To enter these chambers, you need to remove your shoes but wear socks. Your guide will show you and explain the amazing number of valuable artifacts used in Mayan rites. These artifacts include the Skeletal Remains of 14 individuals, 150 ceramic pots, stingray spines and obsidian blades used for bloodletting, grinding stones, whistles and dried remains of corn and other plant remains. These remain in place just as they were when they were discovered about 25 years ago. At the far end of the Main Chamber, you will find the Chrystal Maiden, a young girl who was sacrificed as part of agricultural fertility rites.
Type of Tour/Activity: Mayan Ruins and Archaeological Sites
(10)
ATM CAVE TOUR
Taking a journey into the Mayan underworld at Actun Tunichil Muknal, or the “Cave of the Stone Sepulchre”, will be one of the most enlightening, epic, and unique experiences ... moreof your life. Leave the world of the living behind as you venture into the heart of the ATM Cave with your licensed guide. Recently deemed the #1 Sacred Cave destination in the world by National Geographic, the ATM cave is not only beautiful geologically, with its crystalline stalactites and stalagmites, but also historically, as is a natural museum of ancient Mayan artifacts, as well as a sacred burial place. This is the final resting place of the “Crystal Maiden”, an ancient Mayan ceremonial victim, as well as the remains of 13 other sacrificed men, women, and children. MayaWalk guides have led government officials, National Geographic teams, the Discovery Channel, The British High Commission, and US Embassy officials into the ATM Cave.
This sacrificial site is accessed by approximately an hour's drive from our office in San Ignacio. Here we enter the Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve and park our vehicles at the ranger post. From this point on we are on foot, hiking through the jungle for approximately 45 minutes to the entrance of the cave. The hike includes three stream crossings. To access the cave, we swim across a small spring-fed pool with the assistance of a rope and wade into knee-high water into the dark underworld of the cave that allows us access to the extensive underground maze of tunnels, passageways, and chambers, climaxing in the ceremonial chamber housing stoneware, ceramics and the famed crystallized skeleton of the “Crystal Maiden”. We spend approximately 3 hours in the cave under the instruction of our experienced guides.
Leave your cameras behind and experience the power of ancient spirits with your mind, body, and soul. This is not only a physical adventure but a journey into the spiritual realm. We enter back into the jungle world and hike to our vehicles, where we relax and enjoy a homemade picnic lunch, with water and soft drinks, before driving back to San Ignacio.
Type of Tour/Activity: Jungle and Rainforest Adventures
Departs From: San Ignacio Town
(1)
The ATM Cave is a "must do" tour experience- and it's easily accessible!! The tour starts with a 45-minute hike through the jungle in the Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve. It is a great ... moreway to soak in the majesty of the surrounding jungle. You will cross three rivers as you wind your way through the jungle to the mouth of the cave. The tour duration is approximately 3 hours. Bring along a change of clothes as you will be completely wet by the time the tour is over. Understanding why this cave was of such sacred importance to the Mayas requires an understanding of their spirituality. In the Maya religion, the gods of agriculture, rain, and fertility were believed to reside in the underworld. It would only seem natural that the ATM Cave, with its seemingly endless pits, would be seen as a potential gateway to the underworld. By making human sacrifices within the cave, they could appeal to these important gods practically at their front door.
Guests should dress as if preparing for a hike, bringing comfortable clothes and sturdy closed-toe shoes. Bear in mind that no cameras are allowed within the cave. The prohibition of cameras prevents damage to remaining skeletons and artifacts and preserves ATM for future generations.
Type of Tour/Activity: Jungle and Rainforest Adventures
(1)
This tour will take you from the Maya temple to the entrance of the Mayan underworld. The adventure starts at the popular Mayan site of Xunantunich; just getting there is an adventure ... moreof its own. After touring the temples, we drive to No’och Che’ en Cave, where you will start off on an easy hike through the jungle to your starting point. As you sit back and enjoy tubing downstream, you will be floating through a series of remarkable limestone caves, each filled with fascinating discoveries of the Mayan underworld. There is also an opportunity to leave your tubes behind and go exploring cave chambers, where you will see ceramic pieces and beautiful geological formations. The adventure ends floating downstream through the jungles of Belize; back at the starting point.
Type of Tour/Activity: Mayan Ruins and Archaeological Sites
ATM Cave was first explored in 1989 and National Geographic produced a documentary about ATM Cave in 1992 called Journey Through the Underworld.
... more
Actun Tunichil Muknal is one of the most impressive Maya ceremonial caves containing bloodletting altars used in sacrifices and over 1400 artifacts as well as human skeletal remains.
Type of Tour/Activity: Mayan Ruins and Archaeological Sites
Departs From: San Ignacio Town
Join a soul-touching experience as you get the unique opportunity to explore the sacred underworld of the Mayan with our Mayan descendant expert guide. It is a spiritual experience ... morelike no other as the sharing is done with utmost authenticity. A 2hr road journey takes you to a very secluded jungle location where you hike for approximately 20-30 minutes to the elusive ATM Cave where your guide draws the attention of your soul to the era when the Mayans traversed the Cave in search of hope. Refreshing yourself in the cool stream at the entrance of the cave is a must. You are then asked to partake in the journey of walking along the inner stream in the Cave and climbing Rocks viewing the shimmery stalagmites and stalactites as you make your way to the upper chamber where skeleton remains and potteries can be seen. You are encouraged to engage all your senses to feel the moment
Type of Tour/Activity: Jungle and Rainforest Adventures
ACTUN TUNICHIL MUKNAL CAVE THE STONE SEPULCHRE (Mother of all caves). Ranks # 1 in the "top 10 sacred caves" list by National Geographic. This cave is located in the Tapir Mountains ... moreReserve. Discovered in 1989 and soon gained archeological importance as one of the 10 sacrificial caves in Belize, and now, in the World.
In the cave, opportunities arise to see skeletal remains of 14 individuals, including and most famous CRYSTAL MAIDEN. Most skeletal remains sparkle as they have been covered in calcite crystals from being in that constant cave environment for over a thousand years. ATM cave was known for performing rituals to appease the rain god of Xibalba, the underworld.
Getting to ATM involves a 45-minute moderate jungle trail hike. While entering the cave, there is a river flowing out, so swimming for short distances and getting wet is part of this tour.
Type of Tour/Activity: Jungle and Rainforest Adventures
Departs From: San Ignacio Town
Experience more than a cave! Imagine a world alive and imbued with sacred power divided into three domains: the starry arch of heaven; the stony middle world of the earth made to flower ... moreand bear fruits; and, the dark waters of the underworld below, Xibalba.
A short swim through the crystal blue waters will lead you into this amazing realm. Then working your way through a breakdown leads you into the main water passage, where you get to view amazing geological formations like sparkling stalactites, stalagmites, and flowstones. This hidden chamber promises to reveal ancient secrets and geological processes that have helped to shape the Mayan Underworld known as Xibalba. Xibalba was the fearful world beneath the face of the earth, the parallel unseen world into which kings and shamans could enter an ecstatic trance and please their gods for their benefit.
Type of Tour/Activity: Mayan Ruins and Archaeological Sites
Departs From: San Ignacio Town
Actun Tunichil Muknal (the Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre), also known locally as ATM, is a cave near San Ignacio, Cayo District, notable as a Maya archaeological site that includes ... moreskeletons, ceramics, and stoneware. There are several areas with skeletal remains in the main chamber.
Many of the Maya artifacts and remains are completely calcified to the cave floor. The ceramics at the site are significant partly because they are marked with “kill holes”, which indicate that they were used for ceremonial purposes. One artifact, named the “Monkey Pot”, is one of just four of its type found in Central America. The Maya also modified cave formations here, in some instances to create altars for the offerings, in others to create silhouettes of faces and animals or to project a shadow image into the cave. The cave is extensively decorated with cave formations in the upper passages.
Actun Tunichil Muknal cave was first entered by the Mayas in AD 300-600. It was not until the late AD 700-900 that the Mayas went deeper into the cave to perform their ceremonies. The cave was officially opened to the public in 1998.
The cave houses various types of artifacts from ceramics and stoneware to the remains of skeletons. The Mayas consider Actun Tunichil Muknal a highly sacred location, enclosing the famous “Crystal Maiden,” who was thought to be a sacrifice victim. After decades of weathering and natural processes, the surface of the skeleton appears to be covered with a geological sanded finish, which gives the maiden a somewhat magical fairy-dust appearance.
Type of Tour/Activity: Jungle and Rainforest Adventures
|
|
|