The ATM Cave is a wet cave – you swim into the mouth and then wade through ankle to chest-high water before climbing to an intricate passageway of dry chambers which lead to the cathedral-like main hall, a towering chamber 350 meters in length and 50mteres wide and filled with artifacts and sacrificial remains.
After this another climb takes you to the stone chamber where the Crystal Maiden lies, this is the skeleton of a teenage girl who was sacrificed and left in the cave. Over thousands of years, her remains have been covered by a layer of diamond-like limestone. The Mayas sacrificed humans in the hopes of appeasing the gods and bringing fertility to the land.
This is an extraordinary Belize adventure and a rare opportunity to see ancient Maya ceremonial sites and altars as they were virtually untouched for centuries.