What to Expect from the ATM Cave Tour in Belize

In this guide we’ll share everything you need to know before signing up for the ATM Cave tour in Belize. We’ll go into what to expect, what to wear and what to bring with you, as well as what to leave behind. In addition, we’ll also discuss some of the reasons you shouldn’t go on this tour.

You’ll might notice a lack of photos in this blog post. This is because cameras of any kind aren’t allowed inside the cave. We’ll talk about the reasons behind this, but we just wanted to give you a heads up that this blog post is more of a description of the experience Jon had on the tour without much visual aid.

If you’d like to see what we got up to in San Ignacio in Belize, then watch our dedicated YouTube video. (We’ve been getting plenty of love on it from Belizeans)!

What is the ATM Cave?

ATM stands for Actun Tunichil Muknal (the Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre). It is a Maya archaeological site located in the Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve, near San Ignacio in Western Belize. According to a National Geographic article, it’s one of the most sacred caves in the world along with the Bronze-Age Minoan Caves in Crete and St. Paul’s Grotto in Malta, amongst other spiritual destinations.

This natural museum provides visitors with an insight into the ancient Maya underworld whilst taking you on an incredible caving adventure. During your tour through the cave you’ll be swimming, wading and scrambling to reach the resting place of the ‘crystal maiden,’ a complete female skeleton encased in crystals. You’ll also see other skeletal remains, as well as Maya artefacts and pottery.

ATM Cave Tour Cost and Companies

You can only visit the ATM Cave with a licensed guide, so there’s no option for an independent visit. In fact, there’s only really a few caves in Belize, like St Herman’s Cave in the St Herman’s Blue Hole National Park, that you can go inside of up to a certain point without a guide.

Only a few tour operators are granted permits to work the ATM Cave tour. Jon went with Maya Walk Tours but you can also check out this tour with Belize Caving Expeditions.

The cost of the ATM tour will mainly depend on where you take the tour from. The most affordable ones depart from San Ignacio, the biggest town in the Cayo District. There’s plenty of amazing things to do in San Ignacio, so we suggest spending a few days there. Expect to pay around $140 USD per person to take the tour from here.

However, if you want to do the tour from places like Belize City, Caye Caulker or San Pedro, then expect to pay more for a day trip purely because of the cost of transportation.

We recommend booking the tour in advance because there is a daily limit of 125 tickets and people usually arrive from different parts of Belize, not just from San Ignacio. So, book in advance to avoid missing your chance.

Once you arrive at the site, you’ll be split up into groups of 6 to 8. Each group has two guides, one in the front and one at the back. They are knowledgeable and funny, and give you lots of interesting information about Maya mythology, as well as Maya religious beliefs and ceremonies.

What to Wear on the ATM Cave Tour

You should wear lightweight and quick dry clothes when going on the ATM Cave tour. Jon wore a pair of swim shorts and a quick-dry T-shirt. For women, we suggest wearing a swimsuit under your clothes. Note that you can’t just go inside the cave wearing only your swimwear!

In terms of footwear, wear a pair of lightweight trainers. It’s important to note that you’ll be required to wear socks towards the end of the tour to preserve the artefacts.

What to Bring with You on the ATM Cave Tour

We recommend having a small day-pack with you containing the following items:

• Change of clothes. Bring a full change of clothes including a tee, shorts and socks. At the end of the tour you’ll be able to change.
• A towel to dry yourself after the tour.
• Water and snacks. The tour usually includes lunch, but it’s good to have water with you and some snacks. You’ll be required to leave your water bottle at the cave entrance.
• Phone and some extra cash for tips. Since you can’t take any electronics with you inside the cave we suggest leaving your camera and other recording devices at your accommodation.

You’ll have to leave your day-pack in the tour van. The only thing you can take with you up until the cave entrance is your water bottle and some snacks, which you’ll have to leave outside the cave before going in.

Why can’t you take phones and cameras inside the ATM Cave?

As you know, we always record videos and take many photos of our adventures, so we totally appreciate why you might also love to do the same in such a unique location.

However, due to incidents involving tourists dropping cameras and fracturing over one thousand year old human skulls, visitors are no longer allowed to take any type of electronics with them inside the cave.

This is mainly for conservation purposes, to reduce the damage done to the remains and artefacts. Plus, it’s an intense adventure, which means that you could easily drop your phone and camera in the water as you make your way through the cave.

You can still bring your phone with you during the day, but you’ll need to leave it in the minivan with your other things. Hence why we don’t recommend bringing along any expensive camera gear.

What to Expect on the ATM Cave Tour

The tour started around 8:00 AM in San Ignacio, where Jon met with his guides and fellow tour-goers. After a short orientation they started the hour long drive to the Tapir Mountain Reserve. En-route they stopped at a convenience store, where they had a few minutes to buy some snacks and drinks.

After arriving at the car park, they embarked on a 30-minute long hike through the jungle to the cave entrance. Along the way they had to do three river crossings. Jon said that the first one was about chest high but the following two were only ankle high. Thankfully, there were ropes that aided them across.

When they got to the cave entrance they had to leave their water battles behind. The first and only proper swimming section is right at the cave entrance. The rest of the time they were walking through shallow streams or wading through chest to neck deep-water. Jon said that there were a few occasions where they had to squeeze through small gaps, although their heads were above the water.

During the tour the guides pointed out how the Maya shamans used shadows, drugs and alcohol to control the populace’s belief in the gods. They used light and movement to demonstrate how the shadows of the stalactites and stalagmites formed familiar shapes on the walls. Under the influence of drugs these shapes, along with the sounds in the cave, would have seemed to the individual being led that they were meeting the Gods.

After about an hour of making their way through the cave system they reached a large dry chamber where they had to remove their shoes. This is where you need to wear socks so as to preserve the sensitive limestone floor. In this chamber they saw all sorts of artefacts such as ritual pots, water pots and food pots, as well as skeletal remains. The finale of the tour is a small alcove containing a complete crystallized human skeleton known as the ‘Crystal Maiden’.

Jon said that they spent a total of 3 hours in the cave (one hour to and from the dry chamber and about an hour inside the chamber). Then they had to hike back through the jungle to the minivan, where they had lunch waiting for them.

After eating and changing into something dry, they got back to San Ignacio around 3:30PM.

What to Consider Before Booking the ATM Cave Tour in Belize

It’s a very intense tour that requires you to be physically fit, be fairly confident in the water and not suffer from claustrophobia or other medical conditions like heart, back or walking disabilities. The tour is also not recommended for pregnant women. If you’ve been to Guatemala, then the ATM Cave tour is probably a similar experience to the Cuevas de K’anba Cave tour near Semuc Champey.

Whilst I consider myself pretty fit and go on many challenging hikes around the world, unfortunately being in tight spaces isn’t something I enjoy. Double that up with my very basic swimming skills and resultant fear of water, and you’ll quickly see why I decided that the ATM Cave tour in Belize wasn’t for me.

However, Jon decided that it was an experience that he didn’t want to miss out on, so he signed up for it on his own and had a great time.

If you’re hesitant about whether to do the tour or not, we highly recommend talking to the tour operators about your concerns. They can provide aids such as life-vests, can have the guides physically assist you on some of the harder sections, or just offer emotional support if you’re uncomfortable in tight spaces.

Final Thoughts on the ATM Cave Tour in Belize

The ATM Cave Tour is a fascinating and fun expedition into the Maya underworld, where you’ll learn many interesting facts about the Maya spiritual and religious beliefs that may not be covered on conventional tours around the Maya city ruins. Seeing the light and shadows play on the walls was a great way to visualise how the Maya shamans would have controlled the populace’s beliefs. It’s a challenging tour and not for everyone, but if you feel like you are physically able to do it, we would highly recommend this incredibly unique tour.

Have you ever been to Belize and done the ATM Cave tour? If so, what was your experience like? If not, would you dare sign up for this challenging tour, or would you rather give it a miss? Let us know in the comments below.