ATM Crystal Maiden

I have done this tour three times now, and The underground exploration of the Tomb of the Crystal Maiden at Actun Tunichil Muknal is arguably not for the faint-hearted; but those who have done it often say it was the best thing about their trip to Belize.
To get to the mouth of the cave you walk through the jungle for about 40 minutes, fording a shallow river three times.  You then swim a short distance into the cave, and follow an underground passage through twists and turns for about half a mile, sharing the space with fruit bats, during which time you will be in water sometimes up to your knees and occasionally up to your neck.
You then reach a miniature cliff which you climb up to reach a plateau which was used by the Mayans for ritual sacrifice to the Rain God Chac more than a thousand years ago.  Here you will see ancient Mayan pottery, and the calcite encrusted remains of 14 human beings, including the complete skeleton of a 14 year old girl (the crystal maiden).
 It is an awesome experience that those of us at the Orchid Garden have seen seven year olds and seventy year olds relish: but you need to be fairly confident in water, not to mind tight squeezes in small places, and to have fairly good knees for the climbing bits.  You will know from the above description whether it is for you or not.

Robin Chambers

Meals Diversities of Culture & Food   Meticulously prepared and exquisitely presented meals that are delicious   Diverse Ethnicities   Creole and Garifuna  Food   Mayan and Mestizo food   Chinese &  Taiwanese Food    Museum of Nature Artistry    Belize History in Bottles    Oil Painting of Belize  Eco-Village Tubing

San Pedro & Caye Caulker Snorkel Snorkeling at possibly the most famous Marine Reserve-Hol Chan Marine reserve is a beautiful marine park, it offers some of the best recreational diving and snorkeling in Belize. Caye Caulker & San Pedro Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) One of the highlights for the more active is our tour to Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM for short).  You will bounce over some rough road to get to the start, then trek through some steamy jungle for up to an hour, fording the river 3 times (the water may be up to your knees, or even higher) to get to the mouth of the cave.  Then you swim in (there is no other way) and make your way past stalactites and stalagmites to crystallized human remains from Mayan rituals more than a thousand years ago.  This is an awesome trip which is arguably not for the faint-hearted; which is why we run a more sedate option on the same day!  You may choose to spend time exploring Mayan, Mennonite and Mestizo population centers with their different cultural overtones instead