Should you book the ATM Cave Tour in San Ignacio, Belize? Yes!
Disclaimer 1: You are absolutely not allowed to take pictures in the ATM Cave. MayaWalk Tours kindly provided some pictures for us to use. Neither the tour nor the blogpost was not sponsored. We paid ourselves.
Disclaimer 2: This blogpost contains affiliate links. When you book the tour with our links, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The ATM Cave Tour was not only the best thing we did in San Ignacio, but also the best thing we did in all of Belize – and definitely a highlight of all of Central America for us.
The ATM Cave Tour – or rather Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave Tour – is absolutely worth it.
National Geographic voted the ATM Cave the #1 Sacred Cave destination in the world. It is not only beautiful geologically with its crystalline stalactites and stalagmites, but also historically, as is a natural museum of ancient Maya artefacts, as well as a sacred burial place.
The ATM Cave tour is both great for:
⭐ Rating: 5.0 / 5 (606 reviews)
We chose the MayaWalk Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave Tour and Picnic because of the amazing ratings.
Government officials, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, The British High Commission and US Embassy officials have trusted MayaWalk Tours with their San Ignacio ATM tour – so did we and so can you!
We completely agree with the raving reviews. We loved this tour – both the swimming through a cave and the archaeology part!
Our tour guide was extremely passionate. We spent much more time in the cave than the other tour groups and got entertaining and thorough explanations. Additionally, it was clear that our guide really respected the site and made sure we didn’t damage anything (let’s just say not every group was as careful).
Wow! Our Guide, Hugh was amazing! He truly cared about every member of the tour. He is passionate about the ancient people's culture, mythology, archeology, geology and history. He made us feel at ease as we navigated the cave and some of the difficult terrain in and out of the water. We were impressed with his knowledge and skill. Also the driver was very professional and helped set up the food. And the cook who provided the meal at the end was awesome. Her food was so yummy. Very good stewed chicken. Loved the entire experience. This is the most unique cave experience you will ever have.
– James (see more reviews)
First of all, expect to get soaking wet on this tour.
The tour starts with a pick up at the MayaWalk office which is centrally located in San Ignacio.
Your adventure starts with a 45-minute jungle hike including river crossings.
You’ll spend around three hours in the cave.
To access the cave, you have to swim. You’ll start in the lower wet part. Wade through an extensive underground maze of tunnels, passageways and chambers.
Climb to the higher dry part of the cave. The climbing part is only a couple of feet/meters. It is a bit of a challenge but our guide told us where to hold on to and step our feet so we felt completely safe.
In the dry part of the cave, learn about the traditions and rites that took place in the cave system and visit the famous crystallised skeleton of the “Crystal Maiden”.
After we climbed back down to the wet part of the cave, our guide had a little surprise for us.
The tour ends with a pick-nick lunch with some well-deserved rum punch.
Just yes!