Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave with Local Lunch from San Ignacio
Overview
Available languages
7 hours 30 minutes
Mobile ticket
Explore the hidden chambers and crystalline waters of the Mayan underworld at Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM), featured in National Geographic! Swim into the mysterious cave, which the ancient Mayas considered to be a portal to the underworld, known as Xibalba. This day trip from San Ignacio includes a 1.5-hour round-trip hike in Tapir Nature Reserve and enjoy delicious local lunch. Climb, crawl, swim, and play in the water passage as you enter the caverns, and delight in the refreshing waters of the Roaring River before and after your spelunking adventure.
Additional Info
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
Minimum height requirement is 40 inches
It is recommended that you wear closed-toe shoes, comfortable clothing (short Pants, Long pants, T-shirt or long Sleeve) that can get wet, a change of clothes.
Hotel pick up and drop off is for hotels within San Ignacio town limits. For hotels outside of San Ignacio, a surcharge applies.
Pair of socks is required as portions of the cave shoes are removed.
Bring reusable Water bottle
No cameras allowed
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
It will take us an hour to drive to the parking lot. Your experienced guide leads your group on an easy 35-minute hike to the cave entrance. Walk along the bank of the Roaring River, which you’ll cross three times before arriving at the cave entrance. To prepare your group for entering the cave, your guide provides a historical overview and a safety briefing. The water passage allows you to splash and play as you wade through the water, which may come up to your ankles, knees, waist, and even neck—sometimes requiring you to swim. At one point, you’ll climb up to a ledge to enter one of the most attractive parts of the cave, where archeologists have recorded more than 1,000 pieces of pottery and 19 human sacrifices. To explore this chamber, you must remove your shoes to protect the natural surroundings, including impressive formations like rock columns, stalactites, stalagmites, citrines, and flowstones. Your guide will share fascinating details about ancient Mayan rituals and ceremonies that once occurred deep under the earth.
What‘s Included
Local guide
Use of all necessary equipment
Entrance fee
Local Lunch (Stew Chicken Rice and beans or Vegeterian option)
Juice
Air-conditioned vehicle
Bring Reusable water bottles
Gratuities
Hotel pick-up and drop-off outside of San Ignacio Town
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Options
Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave with Local Lunch from San Ignacio
Pickup included
ATM Cave Early Tour with lunch
Earlier Departure: Departing earlier to the cave you can encounter fewer people
Shared Tour
Duration: 7 hours
Lunch: Water, Juice, Chips with Salsa, Stew chicken with Rice and beans
Air Condition Vans
Pickup included
Reviews
192 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Best tour ever!
David J,May 2, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Absolutely worth doing. The history of these caves is fascinating, and the experience of visiting is second to none! Don’t pass this up. Ask for Akim as your guide, he is the best.
Must-do activity in one's...
J T,Apr 5, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Must-do activity in one's life! This is not only a journey to explore Mayan culture, but also a thrilling cave adventure. Our guide was quite friendly, and provides a very detailed tour of the cave.
This was a once in a...
Marsha S,Mar 1, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00This was a once in a lifetime experience and Miguel was a great host! Super informative and interactive, with great directions. Food was delightful at the end as well. Definitely do the morning tour to beat the crowds.
Amazing ATM Cave tour—one...
Andrea H,Jan 28, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Amazing ATM Cave tour—one of the highlights of our Belize trip. The cave itself is absolutely incredible and such a unique adventure. Our guide, Gilroy, was excellent: very nice, incredibly knowledgeable, and funny, which made the experience even better. Highly recommend that you book this experience if you can!
Once in a lifetime excursion
Malka F,Jan 4, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Absolutely amazing experience and Miguel was so good with our 8 year old son! He let him hold onto him and guided him but also let him feel independent and accomplished when appropriate. Everyone had a great time! Such a special once in a lifetime experience!
Cant get a refund for a cancelled tour due to weather
Leslie W,Jan 1, 2026
- Review from Viator
1.00This activity was cancelled due to poor weather and we cant get a refund. Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave with Local Lunch from San Ignacio Tue, Dec 30, 2025 • 7:00 AM • 2 Adults
What an amazing...
Beth W,Dec 31, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00What an amazing experience! The hike through the jungle with the river crossings was a nice lead up to the main attraction. The cave adventure was so much fun for the whole family! The cave itself was beautiful and awe inspiring- definitely the highlight of our trip.
Be aware that this trip can be canceled at anytime due to water levels
claireI7438TV,Dec 26, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
1.00Our trip was unfortunately canceled due to dangerously high water levels after days of rain. This was December .. supposedly dry season. Of course this was no-ones fault ... but was incredibly disappointing. This was supposed to have been the highlight of our trip to San Ignacio . Just be aware that this can happen anytime of the year. Communication with the company was a little erratic, and they had promised to let us know as soon as possible in the morning of the trip whether it would go ahead. However I heard nothing from them and had to reach out to them to find out. They did not help us at all with the refund process and it is taking days to get Trip Advisor to " investigate " the situation.
amazing and interesting day and great tour
Explore823127,Dec 24, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00My friends and I had such an amazing day at ATM with Mayawalk Tours, particuarly our great guides Francis and Emil. Walking/swimming/wading through the cave was like nothing we had done before. Many parts of the cave were beautiful and we learned so much from Francis about the cave, the Mayan offerings, and history of the Mayans, the cave, and the country. (Emil took another group). Francis told us exactly where to step and what to do to ensure that we got through as easily as possible. Then we had a delicious local lunch made by other members of the team who were so friendly. And on the bus on the way there, Emil shared with us a lot of interesting information about the Belizian people and the country. Definitely take a tour with Mayawalk and ask for Francis and Emil
One of the BEST travel...
April Y,Dec 17, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00One of the BEST travel experiences I’ve ever had (I’ve been to 43 countries). I brought my mom who is almost 70 and very active. She was fine (a few rock scrapes) but please make sure you have decent physical skills, especially agility. Hot tips: put dry socks in your helmet, bring a water bottle. Water shoes are fine if they have textured rubber soles. Short sleeve, not long sleeve. Pants if you’re concerned with scraping your legs, otherwise shorts are more comfortable as you’ll be soaking wet the entire time. You get into chest deep water a few minutes into the 45minute hike to the caves. Water bottles are left just outside the cave entrance.
From US$145.00
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Operated by Belize Family Adventure