Exploring the Mayan underworld in Belize
The Ancient Mayans believed that caves were the entrances to the underworld, and would perform ceremonies and sacrifices in them to appease and honor the gods. Central America is riddled with caves and all of them were used at one point or another as places of worship. Actun Tunichil Muknal ("The Cave of the Crystal Sepulcher"), located in central Belize, is one of the most impressive of these caves, as it survived into the modern age without being looted or destroyed.
On a recent trip to Belize for my parents 40th wedding anniversary, my Dad and I decided to pay a visit to the Mayan version of Hell (and it was Father's Day no less!)
After a 45min hike that includes multiple river crossings, you come to the entrance to the cave. To enter the cave, you must swim into the entrance (not far, only about 20 feet,) but when we got there one of our tour group revealed that she couldn't swim!
She ended up making it by hanging onto the wall and with the help of our guide Renan.
Once you're in the cave, you have about a 1.5 mile hike up the river. And by up the river, I mean in the river, sometimes up to your chest. Surprisingly, it's not cold at all.
Finally, after about an hour, we climbed up out of the river into the dry part of the cave. Here Renan unloaded his drypack that held all of our cameras (I had a small waterproof Pentax that I used on the river part of the trip) and had us take off our shoes so that we wouldn't damage the fragile artifacts in the cave. My Dad is in the red shirt.
This part of the cave is huge and the entire floor is littered with artifacts and bones. You have to be extremely careful about where you step and follow the guide exactly. The red tape you see in the photo helped mark off areas that contained artifacts.
Everything in this cave is right where the Mayans left them around 1,000 years ago. Most in very good condition.
And pots weren't the only thing the Mayans were leaving around the cave...
There are 15 skeletons in the cave, all presumably human sacrifices. Here you can see the back of a skull and a femur.
After going through the great hall, you must climb up a rickety ladder to the upper chamber.
And this is what we came all that way to see. Everything else was incredible, but tucked away at the back of the upper chamber lies The Crystal Maiden, the most famous resident of Actun Tunichil Muknal.
The Crystal Maiden was a teenage girl sacrificed and left as an offering in the cave over a thousand years ago. Her bones have been completely calcified by the natural processes of the cave. It's both eerie and beautiful.
Once we all had our viewing of the maiden and a chance for photos, it was time to turn around and began the long trip back up to the real world. Emerging from the entrance of the cave, it was easy to feel like we really were returning to the land of the living from a trip to the underworld.
It was a fabulous day and if you find yourself in Belize (which you should, it's a great country) I highly recommend it.
You can see the rest of the photos from Actun Tunichil Muknal here: http://www.jessestanley.com/Travel/Belize/Actun-Tunichil-Muknal/12835973_uQbc9#944223305_ywBjN
On a recent trip to Belize for my parents 40th wedding anniversary, my Dad and I decided to pay a visit to the Mayan version of Hell (and it was Father's Day no less!)
After a 45min hike that includes multiple river crossings, you come to the entrance to the cave. To enter the cave, you must swim into the entrance (not far, only about 20 feet,) but when we got there one of our tour group revealed that she couldn't swim!
She ended up making it by hanging onto the wall and with the help of our guide Renan.
Once you're in the cave, you have about a 1.5 mile hike up the river. And by up the river, I mean in the river, sometimes up to your chest. Surprisingly, it's not cold at all.
Finally, after about an hour, we climbed up out of the river into the dry part of the cave. Here Renan unloaded his drypack that held all of our cameras (I had a small waterproof Pentax that I used on the river part of the trip) and had us take off our shoes so that we wouldn't damage the fragile artifacts in the cave. My Dad is in the red shirt.
This part of the cave is huge and the entire floor is littered with artifacts and bones. You have to be extremely careful about where you step and follow the guide exactly. The red tape you see in the photo helped mark off areas that contained artifacts.
Everything in this cave is right where the Mayans left them around 1,000 years ago. Most in very good condition.
And pots weren't the only thing the Mayans were leaving around the cave...
There are 15 skeletons in the cave, all presumably human sacrifices. Here you can see the back of a skull and a femur.
After going through the great hall, you must climb up a rickety ladder to the upper chamber.
And this is what we came all that way to see. Everything else was incredible, but tucked away at the back of the upper chamber lies The Crystal Maiden, the most famous resident of Actun Tunichil Muknal.
The Crystal Maiden was a teenage girl sacrificed and left as an offering in the cave over a thousand years ago. Her bones have been completely calcified by the natural processes of the cave. It's both eerie and beautiful.
Once we all had our viewing of the maiden and a chance for photos, it was time to turn around and began the long trip back up to the real world. Emerging from the entrance of the cave, it was easy to feel like we really were returning to the land of the living from a trip to the underworld.
It was a fabulous day and if you find yourself in Belize (which you should, it's a great country) I highly recommend it.
You can see the rest of the photos from Actun Tunichil Muknal here: http://www.jessestanley.com/Travel/Belize/Actun-Tunichil-Muknal/12835973_uQbc9#944223305_ywBjN
0
Comments
Great series, thanks for sharing
My Gallery
But that's part of the fun!
Jase // www.stonesque.com