One of the greatest known ceremonial caves in the entire world, ATM Cave (Actun Tunichil Muknal), is unquestionably the hottest spot for Western Belize tourism today. In fact, National Geographic Magazine recently dubbed ATM Cave the #1 sacred cave to visit in the world!
ATM Cave is also known as Cave of the Stone Sepulcher (burial vault) because of the 14 known partial skeletal remains found inside. Nearly 1-km beyond the entrance of the cave sits the main attraction, a fully intact skeleton of a teenage girl, with fully calcified bones that sparkle from the light of your headlamp.
Dubbed “The Crystal Maiden”, the bones have preserved for 1,400 years due to the the same processes (water dripping through the limestone) that forms the many beautiful stalactites and stalagmites to be seen and photographed inside ATM cave on the tour.
Archaeologists believe this Maya cave was likely used in spiritual practices by shamans and royalty because of the human remains found, but also because of pottery with “kill holes”. These perfectly made ceramic pots were broken in order to release the spirit Mayans believed lived within as part of a ritual sacrifice to the Gods.
Archaeologists hypothesize that many of the pots found inside ATM Cave near water sources were broken to appease the Mayan Water God Chac. There are literally hundreds of ceramic bowls, pots, and shards that can be easily photographed from up close. The most unique example shows a monkey glyph easily photographed near the rim. Found, only in one other known location, this Mayan glyph will surely lead to further investigations when archaeologists continue their excavations at ATM Cave in the future.
Further into the cave, it is believed the Mayans modified cave formations to worship the Maya Goddess of birth and medicine Ixchel. The lights from your headlamp show the silhouette of her face perfectly against the cave backdrop.
The one thing the guide from PACZ tours tried to get across was the Maya connection between caves and the underworld. To the Mayans, caves were the passageway to Xibalba, or roughly “place of fear”. The Earth was only the middle plane holding together the heavens and hell. To the Maya, sacred caves like ATM were the origin of the sacred Cieba Tree’s root system (really stalactites). Meanwhile, the Ceiba Tree symbolically connected the people to their God’s above and below.
Due to the fragile nature of the artifacts and skeletal remains within the cave, it is
required that tourists take off their shoes during the last leg of the trip. This is to ensure no contaminants are brought into the delicate area surrounding the Mayan remains. This adds to the adventure, and also requires a bit of balance not to step on the pots and skulls inches from your feet!
It is important to understand the high level of difficulty that ATM cave presents Belize travelers. This is a serious adventure, and not for the weak, or unsure. From the van drop-off, there is a brisk 35 minute hike through the jungle to reach the cave entrance. Near the entrance is a rest area with an outhouse, where overnight ATM Cave tours camp, and daytime tours eat lunch provided in the cost of the tour.
To enter the cave, you must first cross the stream that is running out of the cave entrance to reach a dry, narrow, passage. This is the point where it hits you that the ATM Cave tour is no walk in the park. Every step presents a different hazard, and requires constant awareness, as to not disturb cave formations, preserve the skin on your legs, and not crack your head or unprotected back on the ceiling.
The first 3/4s of the cave trip is though the same running stream you cross when hiking in. At no point is it really required to swim, however, being up to your neck in running water is a definite possibility. Because of the tight squeezes, and the rushing water, ATM Cave closes when water levels are high, but this occurs only a couple of times per year. Tell your guide before you leave if you are not a comfortable swimmer and he/she will equip you with a floating vest to wear. They will also be close at your side for any difficulties you might have when in the water.
The tour requires moderate upper body strength to lift yourself over rock ledges. More so it requires agility, balance, and flexibility, similar to rock climbing. The largest challenge is searching for footholds and safe places to hold your weight while climbing on slippery rock surfaces. It is probably worse to be scared of heights than swimming, because there is a point that requires tourists to push themselves over a ledge without a safety harness. However, the same people afraid of heights would find Tikal’s staircases worse than the ATM Cave experience.
The last leg of the trip is a great finish to an exhilarating day. Over the last 200 yards of the cave, the group is instructed to turn their headlights off and travel hand in hand to the light of the exit. It is a totally blind experience, and a true team building activity. Once you see the light at the end of the tunnel, comfort sets in, as you reflect on one of the coolest things you will ever do or see in your life. The finishing touch is a deserved cannon ball into the blue waters of the stream as you swim back out into nature.
Special note, request your guide to show you the stone altar, which not all guides will do unless asked. It is one of the largest carved stone pieces ever found in the Maya world, and worth the extra effort to see. Unfortunately, our camera was packed away in the waterproof bag our guide was carrying. Otherwise, we would have been able to get a great photograph.
From Lower Dover Jungle Lodge it is only 30 mintues to ATM Cave. That means an extra hour or more of sleep compared to visiting ATM Cave from most Belize jungle lodges near San Ignacio. This also means being the first to be dropped off on the way back! More time to check out the large un-excavated Mayan site named Lower Dover in the afternoon.
What a fabulous adventure..not sure I would enjoy it…being claustophobic but love the pictures. The colour of the water is fabulous…has brightened up my day. Thanks for sharing.
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amazing experience must have been
Thanks for sharing these wonderful photos. It’s amazing to look into the past. The girl’s remains and the skull should be buried, I think. Connie
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I’m INSANELY jealous! How fun!!!!
This looks like an awesome adventure!
Thanks for sharing. I had no idea a place like this existed.
Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed!
The Maya are a very amazing people indeed. So many questions left unanswered still…
So0me of these images are really amazing. A very nice post.
Thanks for the love
Wow, that is one of the most incredible spelunking adventures I’ve seen! I’ve gone on a few cave dives and it’s really hard to get good pictures, but you really managed it well!
Looks like an amazing adventure!
Great adventure story and great pictures. Now I want and need to start planning a trip to Belize!!!
You know we got your back when you make it Juan
Awesome!
Sounds like my kind of adventure! Thanks for sharing! :)
It’s not suited for everyone, but wanting to do it is half the battle!
I love challenges! :)
this looks like it was SO MUCH fun! Thanks for posting this—it helps to know if my family and I ever go to Belize what to see and what to ask to see. ! Amazing!!!! God is definitely quite the artist!
Congrats on making freshly pressed. I am so jealous of these pictures! Please follow my blog ThisTrailerSucks.Com , THANKS!
Wow it is just amazing !!!
Reblogged this on My Favorite Spaces.
What an adventure. The photos are really something to see. Blessings to you all.
What a place! It’s very, very beautiful and sacred indeed.
Thanks for sharing this! The photos are great!
I’d like to go spelunking one day.
Thanks for stopping in. Stay awhile, kick off your shoes, and put your feet up.
Thanks! :)
Thank you for your post! Keep up the good job and have a great aloha week! ^_^
Great pictures! My family and I took a tubing adventure through a partially water-filled cave in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, but didn’t get such great pictures… and no skulls (I think that would have freaked out my sisters!). It was a great experience though! We are taking a trip around the world, but unfortunately not visiting Belize. Thanks for sharing!
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Sounds like you should make a detour!
Gorgeous pictures of a gorgeous place. So glad you posted this, makes me itch for another trip!!
Thanks for reading, more great shots to come. Just saw an equally cool cave today with another story to follow soon…
Beautiful photos! Very intriguing! I am a WordPress photographer as well, so I appreciate posts like these that open your eyes to the beauty in the world all around you! Great job.
Thanks for the kind remarks, good luck and keep shooting!
I really love the first one and the header photo too. I want to go to Belize!
And Belize wants you to come just as bad.
wish there was a ‘like’ button.lol
well you might also like the fact that Belizeans love country music!
Beautiful pictures! Thanks for describing this amazing adventure so well!
Simply stunning!
Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by.
The ATM Cave Entrance is very beautiful
Reblogged this on msamba.
Great photos. I’d love to go to Belize someday.
What an amazing place! more than just pyramids in Belize huh? :)
Yes, but the largest building is still a Mayan temple fyi
One of the most amazing civilizations that has ever lived for sure!
Wow! That sounds incredible. I can’t wait to go to Belize!
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nice place,i like it
Yeah it is amazing………….really beautiful.I would like to go there.
Beautiful!!
WOW! Some awesome photos! Good job! I love them!! Im wanting to travel but i cant, so i love photo’s like this .
Glad we could help you travel on the net!
so beautyfull
That looks really really cool!
I’ve been there and have almost exactly the same photos as you do! It made me smile how the same exact poses had been struck – we even had the same guide. I went back in 2007 I think, great to see your photographs – thanks for sharing!
You should have wrote a story Charlotte! You could have had 1 day of internet fame also.
Seeing your blog made me wish I had done! I was not so computer literate then, though!
So beautiful! Thank you for sharing this.
Very, very nice adventure…haven’t been to Belize…only went as far as Xcalak, Mexico…loved the cenotes there…this looks like the ultimate cenote! The Mayans had some really nice shrines! Thanks for the great description.
If you are in Mexico it is not that hard to get to Belize. We did a story on it here
Great pictures from what seems to have been a great adventure!
You’ve just added another country to my travel list! Great photos
Wow – fantastic photos! I’d love to visit Belize someday!
Check us out when you make it!
Very cool! There’s another stone altar in a cave, this one in the Callao caves, in Tuguegarao province in the Philippines. Admittedly not as breathtaking as the ATM cave, but also worth checking out.
Very cool thanks for the heads up we will check that out!
WOW! That is sooo cool!
Wow! Seems like fun!
I have tubed through this exact cave. it was an excursion we did when my family and I went on a cruise a few spring breaks ago. Great experience!
Brad you are thinking of a different place Cave’s Branch. That one is a little more friendly to older folks and younger kids. ATM is extreme adventure
Ahh you may be right. Nonetheless it was such an awesome experience!
Thanks for sharing the great experience and one that I probably won’t do. ;)
I cannot press the “Like” button enough! The ATM caves have skyrocketed to the #1 position on my Bucket List. Hope you don’t mind, but I’ve copied a couple of your photos to keep as inspiration. What an incredible adventure!
My apologies – in my excitement I forgot to express my sorrow over the loss of your friend. He was an incredible photographer and friend (I imagine) who will be missed.
This place is gorgeous!! I’ve done some spelunking and cave exploring in my short years and this sounds like an adventure that I need to have. Thanks for sharing the legends behind everything; it’s the stories in the background that make the cave fascinating.
Also, nice machete. My older brother used to use one frequently.
wow…brilliant…
This is what i called a real adventure… amazing..
Very well captured! Thanks for sharing…
Your pictures are fantastic!
so amazing! definitely going to put this on my list of places to see! what a great adventure!
The first photo was beautiful. It showed all the different colors of nature.
Very well done, thanks for sharing your trip, MJ
My husband and I did ATM last year. It was a blast! You describe the adventure so perfectly. Great post, awesome pictures!
Thanks, it’s a great trip for anyone that loves adventure
Loving the adventure; Wish I spend my annual leave on such trip; Amazing place and wonderful photographs;
This post just makes me want to visit South America even more. :) Don’t know much about Belize and I’m not sure I would be up for wading through chest deep water. But it seems like such an awesome adventure! Thanks for sharing.
Belize is in Central America just below Mexico so don’t waste your frequent flier miles going too far south!
Wow this is almost like out of an Indiana Jones video game … I’ve recently begin to visit caves but your adventure is way too cool! Nice photos there, definitely want to drop by for a visit (are there any slightly less physical, more ‘listen-to-history’ tours?)
There is an awesome cave that is less well known and you have to zip line to! Somehow it is less taxing than the ATM cave if you believe that. I will be doing a write up on soon. Stay tuned.
Lovely adventure………….
Amazing! Thanks for sharing.
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Just got back from there! Awesome experience-LOVE you Francisco!