Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave Tour and Picnic

Overview

Available languages

English

Spanish

9 hours

Mobile ticket

Actun Tunichil Muknal is a mysterious and beautiful portal to the ancient Maya and their traditions, ceremonies and spirituality. This cave system served as a ceremonial site where the Maya performed sacrifices and other ceremonies as they dealt with extreme and harsh conditions in times of drought.

Explore this lush area surrounded by beautiful jungles, and the cave entrance is traversed by swimming across a crystal clear spring fed pool. Spend 3 hours in the cave after hiking in through the rain forest. Here you will see stunning artifacts, altars and the crystallized skeletons of the sacrificed girl, The Crystal Maiden.

Additional Info

Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap

Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries

Not recommended for pregnant travelers

Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health

Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness

Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately

Cancellations only due to severe rain or flooding

Guests must wear appropriate (Closed toe) shoes for walking through jungle and water

Guests must bring a pair of socks for the dry chamber in the cave

Minimum height requirement is 40inches

Vegetarian meal option available upon request

Bring along a change of dry clothes to be worn after the tour. This is a wet tour.

Clothes to be worn for the tour needs to be modest to respect the cave. Clothing such as macaroni straps, bikini, shorts and sleeveless shirts for both male and females are not allowed.

Eco friendly bug repellent is optional (Apply only if needed)

No cameras/ electronics are allowed on the hike and/or on in the cave.

Bring along a water bottle. We will have water available to refill your bottles.

Have a good breakfast before the tour. Lunch will be late.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What‘s Included

Includes transportation to and from our office in San Ignacio

Explore the cave with an expert, specially licensed guide

All necessary equipment

3-hour walking tour of cave system

Lunch with a drink

Hotel pickup and drop-off only if requested

Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

What To Expect

Atm Cave Belize (actun Tunichil Muknal)

Taking a journey into the Maya underworld at Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) or the “Cave of the Stone Sepulchre” for 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 Maya artifacts, as well as a sacred burial place. This is the final resting place of “Crystal Maiden,” an ancient Maya ceremonial victim, as well as the remains of 13 other sacrificed men, women and children. Your professional guides have led government officials, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, The British High Commission and US Embassy officials into the ATM Cave. This sacrificial site is accessed by a 45 minute drive from our office in San Ignacio.

Admission Included

Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve

Here we enter the Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve and park our vehicles at the ranger post. From this point on we are on foot, hiking through the jungle for approximately 45 minutes to the entrance of the cave. To access the cave we swim across a small spring- fed pool and wade into the dark underworld of the cave that allows us access the extensive underground maze of tunnels, passageways and chambers, climaxing in the ceremonial chamber housing stoneware, ceramics, the famed crystallized skeleton of the “Crystal Maiden”. We spend approximately 3 hours in the cave at the guidance of our experienced guides. We enter back into the jungle world and hike to our vehicles where we relax and enjoy a homemade picnic lunch with water and soft drinks before driving back to San Ignacio. Difficulty level: Moderate (involved some easy swimming and life jackets are provided for non-swimmers, who will also be escorted by our highly trained guide).

5 hours • Admission Not Applicable

Options

Actun Tunichil Muknal

Explore the Maya underworld, where the sounds of ancient bloodletting ceremonies still echo off the walls of the crystal Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave (ATM). As featured in National Geographic!
Pickup included

Reviews

4.96

1,115 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

1085

Coolest thing I have ever done!
Robert H,
Aug 14, 2025
- Viator
5.00
WOW! This is by far the coolest thing I have ever done! The combination of exploring/spelunking and learning about the Mayan people, history and culture was a fully human experience with learning and physically moving through the cave at the same time. We took our teenage kids and everybody had a blast! No trip to Belize is complete without exploring ATM. We were so happy with MayaWalk that we went on two more of their tours and even used their drivers to shuttle us to San Ignacio and back. Everyone there was top notch and we were extremely happy with everything they did. Very highly recommend them.
An amazing experience!!
Liliana H,
Aug 13, 2025
- Viator
5.00
What a fantastic experience! This is a must-visit experience if you are in the San Ignacio area. We did the tour with the MayaWalk tour, and our guide was Christian. He was amazing, very knowledgeable, explained in detail all the history of the caves, but also was excellent about safety and kept the kids engaged. We did the tour with our kids, two 9-year-olds and a 13-year-old. I am not a strong swimmer and Christian made sure I felt confortable during the part we needed to swim. Also, the bus driver, Izziy, and Juan Carlos made the tour enjoyable as well , and the lunch provided at the end was fantastic. Our kids rated this experience 10 out of 10.
A great cave adventure
Martin C,
Aug 10, 2025
- Viator
5.00
I traveled with my 11-year-old daughter, and we both enjoyed the cave tour! We've visited caves before, but they were always dry and more about the cave science. This was a much more adventurous tour, with less science included, but more culture. As a 40-something, my feet were achy and I was done when we ended, but I'd recommend it to anyone who is up for it. I would recommend Mayawalk for any tours in Belize.
Great cave experience
Lynsey D,
Aug 5, 2025
- Viator
5.00
This was my husbands first time caving in a wet cave and he said he had a ton of fun! Eric was our guide and really took care of us. He made sure we had everything we needed to stay safe and enjoy the experience. He was very knowlegable and encouraged asking questions the whole trip. He was really good at encouraging everyone they could do it including my reluctant 15 year old. Also full of amazing dad jokes. Going all the way into the cave is somewhat physically demanding but he said an 81 year old man did it the day before.. so you can do it too! I highly recommend wearing socks, and leggings or pants. You do a bit of hike through the jungle and there were also areas when you could potentially scrape your knees. This definitely a must do tour.
Top experience, would not have missed this!
Inge H,
Aug 2, 2025
- Viator
5.00
Great tour, you really MUST do this when you are in San Ignacio. We have adjusted EN our trip accordingly and added 2 nights San Ignacio to be able to do DE ATM tour. I'm so happy about this! It's fine to do EN and certainly not 'ENG', there's enough space in DE cave EN climb not so bad (I'm a lung patient and for me it was doable). Afterwards vsn enjoyed a delicious lunch.