MAYAN RITUAL SACRIFICE CAVE EXPERIENCE ACTUN TUNICHIL MUKNAL (ATM CAVE)
Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave is Mayan for Cave of the Stone Sepulcher. This is a must do tour for visitors to Belize! The cave was created by water erosion of the karst limestone over a period of hundreds of thousands of years. It has been used by the Maya for nearly two thousand years for religious rituals.
ATM Cave is about 7 miles south of the village of Teakettle in the beautiful Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve in the Cayo district. Hike 2 miles through pristine jungle crossing Roaring Creek three times to reach the cave entrance with your specially licensed guide. Don your helmet and headlamp and get ready to swim and clamber into the ancient Maya ritual world.
The first part of the adventure is swimming and wading through the awesome array of stalagmites and stalactites and other limestone features before reaching the Stelae Chamber and the Main Chamber. The Main Chamber is about one kilometer from the cave entrance To enter these chambers, you need to remove your shoes but wear socks. Your guide will show you and explain the amazing number of valuable artifacts used in Mayan rites. These artefacts include the skeletal Remains of 14 individuals, 150 ceramic pots, stingray spines and obsedian blades used for blood letting, grinding stones, whistles and dried remains of corn and other plant remains. These remain in place just as they were when they were discovered about 25 years ago.
At the far end of the Main Chamber you will find the Chrystal Maiden, a young girl who was sacrificed as part of agricultural fertility rites.
We leave Placencia at 05:30 am to meet up with the specialist guide in the village of Teakettle. The specialist guide will drive you to the Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve. The Belize Tourism Board, in coordination with the Belize National Institue of Culture and History, Institute of Archaeology, hs granted licenses to a small group of agents to conduct tours to this cave, in an attmept to balance its protection against tourist revenue. The Splash driver will wait for you in Teakettle. Expect to be back in Placencia at around 7:00 pm.
Wear sturdy shoes suitable for walking in water and bring a change of clothes for the drive back from the park entrance. Bring insect repellent. WEAR SOCKS AS THEY ARE MANDATORY FOR PRESERVATION REASONS. CAMERAS ARE NOT ALLOWED AND ONLY THE GUIDE WILL CARRY A DRY BAG INTO THE CAVE.
Fitness level required: moderate with ability to swim short distances and agility to be able to clamber up and down and around rocks and obstacles.