Cave Tours
Cave Tubing at St. Hermans
Cost: $135 USD per person (Minimum 2 persons)
$120 USD per person (for 3 persons or more)
What to Bring: Bug repellant, sunscreen, extra dry clothes, water shoes and towel
Time: 7am to 5pm
Intensity: 3
Included: lunch, drinks
Immerse yourself as you leave Hopkins to experience a scenic drive through the mountains of Belize as we drive to our destination. Arrive at the head of the Caves Branch River, jump into an inner tube, and prepare for a thrilling ride down the river. Glide through the river’s fascinating tunnels and hidden caves to see the surrounding jungle and plant life from a different perspective. Keep an eye out for tropical birds, parrots, and the national bird the toucan. At the end of your journey enjoy a delicious picnic lunch with the scenic river as your backdrop.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CAVES TO THE ANCIENT MAYANS
Throughout Mesoamerica caves take on special meaning that may vary between cultures, but share common themes surrounding life, fertility, and abundance juxtaposed with those of danger, evil, and death. In Mesoamerican thought, both in the past and present, caves are ambiguous spaces associated with indwelling good and evil deities that can be coaxed, flattered, or angered by humans. It is for this reason that rituals in caves were used as a place to petition and honor these deities so vital to human well-being.
ATM Tour
Cost: $190 USD per person (2-3 people)
$175 USD per person (for 4 people)
Time: approximately 2 hours
What to Bring: dry cloths, water shoes, socks, towel
Intensity: 4
For the fit and adventurous, this is a hands down, the most talk about cave in Belize. Discovered in 1989 and opened to the general public since 1998. The ATM cave is a full five kilometer deep. After a 45minutes hike in the cool tropical rainforest and across three streams, you enter its hour-glass shape mouth a 10meter swim in water about 5metre deep, to land on them rock shelf. The next 600metre is a journey of well over half an hour filled with many sharp and slippery edges and water depth alternates from just covering your toes to portion where only the tallest won’t need to swim. Along the way, you pass many calcite formations and a few which have undergone minor sculpting (purpose unknown) by the. After this distance, you ascend 2 or 3 meters to a shelf above the river. From this point forward is shallow ground where you walk barefoot (socks only).
Near the mouth of the cave, whereas later generations moved further into the caves perhaps believing that this would bring them closer to the lords of Xibalba. The closer to the gods, the better chance the ceremonies would be answered. Pottery of all sizes and styles lay within the cave, all broken to release spirits contained with within. A not so common artifact found is human remains. So far, remains of 14 individuals have been found, 7adults and 7 children all under the age of 5.