Wow, this excursion is a whole new definition of “sporty”. The Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) Cave is one of the top tours in Belize, and it is truly amazing to see and do. The cave formations are incredible – you hike in 1/2 mile in the cave and each cavern is spectacular. At the far end of the cave, you see lots of Mayan artifacts from 700-900 A.D. – pots, ceremonial areas, skulls, and 1 full skeleton.
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But let me prepare you a bit…. This is not for people who are afraid of tight spaces, have bad balance, are too round, or even too tall.
You will be wet for the entire 4-5 hours. It is about a mile hiking to the cave. Immediately out of the parking lot (with life jacket, helmet, and headlamp), you walk through a river that is chest deep. There are 2 other river crossings thigh deep, but it is the cave that is really challenging. To enter the cave, you swim (water is deep). From there, the water is ankle to neck deep all the way in.
The bottom is rocky, so it is a bit tricky to balance. There are some points of narrow passageways that you have to squish through, short areas where you are ducking, slopes where you are scrambling up or sliding down. Each cavern opens up and – AMAZING!!
There were moments where I said out loud, “This is insane.” That said, it is an incredible and challenging experience, and I definitely would do it again 🙂
Wear for that day: Water-friendly shorts and top (no cotton), tennis shoes that are okay to get wet, and socks. (My husband wore Tevas and wished he had worn tennis shoes.) I recommend a long-sleeved top, so something like a long-sleeved rash guard shirt is ideal or poly-pro top. This is all you wear/bring for the tour plus your water bottle. Everything else stays in the van (no phone/camera, sunglasses, etc.).
Bring in the van: Extra set of clothes and sandals/shoes to change into afterwards, long-sleeved shirt or light jacket (as you might be chilled), small towel, water bottle, sunglasses.
After the tour, there are showers in the parking area. The water is not hot, but also not cold, so okay to rinse off quickly and change clothes. You will also get lunch at the picnic area.
I recommend eating a decent breakfast because you will be exerting yourself, and it will be afternoon before you get lunch.
Final note: Tennis shoes do not dry in the humid climate, as I found out, so I recommend one of these options:
- Bring an old pair of shoes that you just throw away after the tour.
- Give your shoes to the front desk right after the tour and ask them to put them in the dryer.
- Use a hairdryer to dry them out (I did this on Hot/Low, which worked well, but it is noisy, and the bathroom got quite hot).
