Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave: Explore the Mysterious Mayan Underworld and Enjoy a Local Lunch

Embark on a thrilling adventure to Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave, the mysterious Mayan underworld. Swim through crystalline waters, explore hidden chambers, and enjoy a local lunch.

Duration: 7 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • ATM Cave Belize - Actun Tunichil Muknal - The journey begins with a one-hour drive to the parking area. An experienced guide will lead the group on a gentle 35-minute hike to the cave’s entrance. The path follows the Roaring River, which must be crossed three times before reaching the cave. Before entering, the guide will provide a historical…
What's Included
  • Local guide
  • Use of all necessary equipment
  • Entrance fees
  • Local Lunch (Stew Chicken Rice and beans or Vegetarian option)
  • Juice
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • Bottled water
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pick-up and drop-off outside of San Ignacio Town
Additional Information

Discover the secret chambers and sparkling waters of the Mayan underworld at Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM), as highlighted in National Geographic! Dive into this enigmatic cave, which the ancient Mayas believed to be a gateway to the underworld, called Xibalba. This excursion from San Ignacio features a 1.5-hour round-trip hike in Tapir Nature Reserve and…

Location
46 Burns Avenue
Burns Avenue
Unit # 2 inside the Belize Caving Expeditions Office
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.8
(190 Ratings)
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Marsha_s
Mar 1, 2026
This was a once in a... - This 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.
Review provided by Viator
Andrea_h
Jan 28, 2026
Amazing ATM Cave tour—one... - Amazing 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!
Review provided by Viator
Malka_f
Jan 4, 2026
Once in a lifetime excursion - Absolutely 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!
Review provided by Viator
Beth_w
Dec 31, 2025
What an amazing... - What 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.
Review provided by Viator
Explore823127
Dec 24, 2025
amazing and interesting day and great tour - My 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
Review provided by Tripadvisor
April_y
Dec 17, 2025
One of the BEST travel... - One 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.
Review provided by Viator
Danleyd2024
Sep 14, 2025
Awesome! - I went on this tour a little apprehensive after reading some posts online. I'm not the most active of people and had just come back from knee injuries a few months prior. With that said, the tour was amazing! I packed a few things for this trip: A pair of socks, dry clothes, some water. Things I should have brought: Dry footwear for the ride back, a little snack for the hike back to keep my energy up, an electrolyte mix. We were picked up from our hotel by our guide Patrick and our driver. He was seemed friendly and funny from the moment we met. As we loaded up into the van his knowledge about his country as well as his work became evident. With all of his attributes I became more comfortable with the fact that the day was going to be uncomfortable. Once we arrived we were given our life jackets and helmets with head head lamps. Then set off on our journey. Shortly after, we arrived at our first river crossing. We had a rope strung across to help us with our stability. After crossing we began our hike/walk through the jungle to to cave. Patrick would stop and explain to us things about the Mayans or the jungle and was always open to our questions. After 2 more river crossings we arrived at the cave entrance. To make it into the cave we had to swim/float for about a minute with the water being refreshingly cool. Then you would get to a point where you had to scramble up a big rock and through a hole. I am not the smallest, most nimble person out there but this was still doable for me. Patrick was there always advising me on the best way to navigate through some of the obstacles. The cave itself was a mixture of moving through water, scrambling over rocks, and movement through some of the archeological sites. The way back was a bit quicker but still full of fun. It was nice to end the time in the cave with wading through the cool water at the entrance. The hike back was uneventful but if you need energy I would bring a quick snack. You will be without water or food in the cave so keep that in mind. Patrick did have an extra source of water with him in his backpack. Back at the parking lot we were greeted with an amazing meal of chicken, rice, plantains, coleslaw, and an ice cold drink. We were able to rinse off and change into dry clothes before the trip back to the hotel. After the getting back I was definitely sore and probably needed to drink more water. This tour was a great experience made greater by the knowledge and care taken by Patrick to show us something that he loves. This was definitely a highlight of my trip to Belize.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Noah_p
Aug 27, 2025
Must do! Will remember for life - Amazing one of a kind experience. Highly highly recommend, excellent tour guide and lunch was delicious. Very adventurous, the cave was massive. You’ll drive to the location, leave everything in the car besides water bottles, put on equipment then cave exploring for a few hours. After the hike you get to change into dry clothes for the ride back. Our tour guide Francisco was more than amazing. Couldn’t ask for a better day
Review provided by Viator
Leslie_w
Jan 1, 2026
Cant get a refund for a cancelled tour due to weather - This 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
Review provided by Viator
Clairei7438tv
Dec 26, 2025
Be aware that this trip can be canceled at anytime due to water levels - Our 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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $145
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).