ATM cave

One of the most popular day trips to do from San Ignacio is a tour of the ATM cave. We hadn't planned on doing this adventure because we heard it was quite intense and that the minimum age was 8 years old. But it turns out that you actually only have to be taller than 40" and be willing to pay $85-95 US per person for the day trip! Other tours, like tubing down the river / tubing in a cave, kayaking in a cave also all sounded cool, but we decided to go with ATM.

You cannot take a camera with you on this trip so I've just stolen photos from various tour company websites.

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 of 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...

I was personally nervous about this adventure. I have enjoyed other caves (in Australia, in Virginia) and I have swam in a cenote in Mexico... but there are some caves I do NOT like. I don't like small, dark, cramped spaces and I don't like feeling trapped if I don't have enough room to turn around and get out. I wasn't sure how I felt about swimming inside a cave, or if I'd get really cold. I also wasn't sure how the girls would do hiking in and out, being in a cave for a long time, or seeing skeletons of young sacrificed girls!

It's possible to book this adventure with many local operators, but we opted to book with PacZ tours because we were also interested in having them assist us with a shuttle / transit to Tikal the next day.

We met at 8:30am and got in van and drove for about an hour. We were told to wear socks and be prepared to get wet and cold. I wore quick dry pants and a quick dry top. If I'd had merino wool anything I'd have worn it, and I wish the kids had more quick dry clothes. We wore life jackets (the kids needed them and I wanted the warmth), climbing helmets and head lamps and started our hike into the jungle. 

Right away you cross a river by swimming across with a rope to assist you in your crossing. It's about 45 min further from there with two more swimming/wading crossings to get to the mouth of the cave.

After a quick bathroom break (in the bushes) and a quick snack from our pocket, we got to the mouth of the cave where we were told to swim through the cave opening and on to land about 30 feet inside the cave. The water was cold! But since Ava had already jumped in (clothes, shoes, and all!), we had to jump in and follow.

The mouth of the cave:
Guide: "Ok, jump in, swim 30 feet, and then pull over on to the rocks on the left"
Ave: "Ok!" and off she goes...

The mouth of the cave

I was very impressed with the girls' ability to hike, swim, respect the rules of what to touch / not touch, and climb up and around various rock formations. We were in the cave for three hours and had a tour guide lead us and tell us about Mayan history along the way. We saw many artifacts and skeletal remains throughout the inner chamber.

Rachel had a bit of a hard time letting the guide help her - offering her a hand or telling her where to put her foot, or telling her about human sacrifices and make jokes along the way. It was an interesting parent challenge to encourage her to be her independent self, but still polite and respectful of our guide. Our guide was excellent and we really enjoyed our experience.

Apparently many other groups were impressed by our 6 and 9 year old girls for doing this adventure. Several others said things like 'wow! I was feeling nervous, but if you kids can do it, then I know I can do it, too!'

I felt pretty proud of myself because I wasn't scared and really enjoyed the experience. I was particularly proud of Ava, who did the whole things without any complaining or silly behaviour. Her biggest challenge was that she was hungry about 2 hours into the cave, so as soon as we were out of the cave I offered her a bar I'd been carrying around in my pocket, but it was sealed and dry.

As we finished our hike, it started to rain hard, so we were thankful for change rooms and fresh clothes and a lovely warm lunch in re-usable containers before our van ride back to our hotel.