A.T.M Cave (Actun Tunichil Muknal) from Placencia

Actun Tunichil Muknal (Cave of the Stone Sepulchre) dubbed by National Geography as the top sacred cave to explore in the world; should be on your bucket list! Your journey starts from Placencia with a 2.5 hr- drive in air-conditioned comfort until your arrival at the ranger outpost. Here, our guides will provide you with a helmet, headlamp, and life jacket if needed. When geared up, it’s now time to hike, wade and swim the sacrificial Mayan underworld of the ATM. There are 3 river crossing and a 30-minute hike, which will bring you to an hourglass entrance. From here, the cave system spans approximately 3 miles with stalactites, stalagmites, jarring boulders, and freshwater streams from ankle to waist-deep.

A.T.M Cave (Actun Tunichil Muknal) from Placencia

After an hour of spelunking, you’ll arrive at the ceremonial area, and squeeze through an orifice which opens up into a large football field cavern. Here you’ll remove your shoes. Walking bare feet, deeper into the underground surrender will unearth untainted Mayan history dating back 1-1000 AD. Pottery, ranging from intact to completely shattered; tools, ceremonial items, and the skeletal remains of 14 bodies on display, from finger bones to skulls, among other skeletal remains, fused to the bare ground within a few feet steps.

A.T.M Cave (Actun Tunichil Muknal) from Placencia

The cavern ends with the main chamber where the calcified to sparkling crystallized remains of the “Crystal Maiden” lays, believed to be the skeleton frame of a young woman who was sacrificed in a bloodletting ceremony to the “gods”. It is here you’ll turn around and retrace your steps to the cave’s entrance with only one question in mind: How do they allow you to do this?

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