Diving deeper into Mayan lore - and a den of human sacrific

Shoeless and shivering cold, I'm halfway through a subterranean triathlon of wading, swimming, and climbing through Belize's Actun Tunichil Muknal, a portal to the sacred underworld according to ancient Mayan lore. Locals still call the cave Xibalba, or "place of fear," and as I tiptoe past yet another human skull, it's not hard to understand why.


The entrance of Belize's Actun Tunichil Muknal.

Three hours before, the cave looked welcoming - refreshing, even. A river flowed from the vine-draped grotto, and a swim across a 15-foot pool was required to access the inner depths. Jumping into the clear, minnow-filled water was the closest I and my Northeastern University classmates - volunteering in western Belize over our spring break - would get to scuba diving off the country's Caribbean coast. Eager for semi-aquatic adventure, we may have overlooked the fact that we were venturing into what was once a den of human sacrifice.

Not far from the cultural hub of San Ignacio, Actun Tunichil Muknal is closer to Guatemala than to Belize's tourist-heavy eastern seaboard. Famous for its skeletal sovereign, a young woman whose calcified remains have earned her the epithet the Crystal Maiden, the cave is one of a number of prehistoric sites in the mountainous Cayo District, where the Mayan civilization thrived more than a millennium ago. The skeletal remains of 13 other humans, as well as many ceramic and stoneware pieces, have been discovered in the limestone abyss.

Our archeological adventure began after a bumpy backroads drive and a 45-minute jungle hike that included fording a waist-deep river three times.

At the mouth of the cave, we abandoned our packs and strapped on miner's helmets. Split into two groups, three of my classmates and I - joined by a middle-aged American couple and two visibly nervous French-Canadian women - put our trust in Martin, a guide from San Ignacio's Mayawalk Tours. Headlamps shining, we plunged into the aqueous aperture and followed Martin into the dank, dark unknown.


Stalagmites in an upper chamber of Actun Tunichil Muknal.

Not for the feeble or claustrophobic, navigating the cave required spurts of doggy paddling in between traipsing shallow waters, clambering over slick boulders and squeezing through tight passages with names like "the guillotine" - all obstacles of adventure or of peril, depending on one's intrepid spirit.

Along the way, sights of fluttering bats and gigantic spiders, plus the occasional crab, reminded us spelunkers that life survives underground. Seeing fellow tourists slipping and colliding, helmet-first, with overhanging rock slabs reminded us that, amazingly, we had never signed liability waivers.

About a mile in, we climbed away from the clammy stream to a dry upper space called the Cathedral. The white flowstones and massive stalagmites and stalactites of the soaring chamber looked more like Gaud� creations than natural occurrences.

There, we removed our shoes and kept an eye out for artifacts blocked off by nothing more than strips of orange tape. Past foot traffic had damaged the haphazardly scattered bones and bits of broken pottery found in the chamber, and our wearing only socks was meant to prevent further harm. Cameras have not been allowed in the cave since, in 2012, a tourist dropped his and shattered a centuries-old skull.

Sitting below jagged stone altars, most of the pottery had calcified into the cave floor. Martin pointed out the "kill holes" in some of the ceramics, evidence of the bloodletting ceremonies and hallucinogenic quests that Mayan priests and royalty would engage in to connect with the deities of the underworld.

We saw four partial skeletons before scaling a rickety ladder, wedged precariously between boulders, to a small separate chamber that was the Crystal Maiden's resting place. The only female found in the cave, her skeleton - sprawled and facing upward, jaws gaping - was also the only one that was fully intact. The sparkling remains were deceiving, showing no indication she had been the victim of human sacrifice. It's believed she was killed with a club.

As I looked at her calcified skeleton one last time before descending the ladder, ready to make my way back above ground, I couldn't help but think how lucky I was. I would be leaving Actun Tunichil Muknal alive.

Boston Globe

Exploring This 'Portal To The Underworld' Will Leave You In Awe Of Mayan Culture

Fine, fine, that kid we thought was so brilliant, the one who discovered an ancient Mayan city by looking at the stars? Probably not real. But that doesn't mean that the Mayan world doesn't still hold secrets untold. Secrets that will only reveal themselves to bold spirits and intrepid explorers.

Deep in the lush green jungles of Belize, there's a cave with a 1,000-year-old skeleton inside. The bones once belonged to a human - killed to glorify the Gods - and can still be visited to this day. The spot is so special that National Geographic ranked it No. 1 in their book Sacred Places of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Most Peaceful and Powerful Destinations.

It's called Actun Tunichil Muknal, which translates to Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre. How good is that? It could be an Indiana Jones title with zero modification. To the locals, it's known as ATM cave (because it makes the region a lot of money?); to the ancient Mayans it was Xibalba. The word means "place of fear," which designates the cave as an entrance to the Mayan underworld. For the Mayans, the underworld was not an abstract concept - it was real, accessed through caves like this one. And with Belize being home to the most caves in all of Central America, Xibalba was never far from the minds of the region's early inhabitants.

In those ancient days, standing at the entrance to Actun Tunichil Muknal, and any cave for that matter, was like standing at the entrance to hell. Xibalba wasn't just home to demons, though. It was also home to one of the Mayans' most revered deities: Chac, the God of rain. Early Mayans who followed rivers upstream to discover their sources usually found a stream gushing from the mouth of a cave. This led them to believe that water was born in caves - so naturally caves were also the home to Chac.

Chac was responsible for the rain he provided for crops (signifying his mercy) and also the withholding of rain or the throwing of lightning bolts from the sky (signifying his vengeance). When the Mayans sought his favor, they offered gifts, delivered to his dark and wet home deep under the earth. They delivered quite a few gifts to him at Actun Tunichil Mukna, offerings that remain there today.

To see all of this for myself, I traveled down a long and bumpy dirt road, hiked through the jungle, and waded across two rivers before finally arriving at the cave entrance.

I. Into The Belly Of The Beast


With the overgrown vines and the precariously situated boulders hanging above, plus the blue-gray water pouring from the caves' mouth, Actun Tunichil Muknal is the quintessential jungle cave. It's so perfect looking that you'll think it's the entrance to a Disney World ride.


Remember, caves were considered the underworld to the ancient Mayans - the home of Gods. With that in mind, as you stand at the entrance, think about the Mayans who stood in this spot one thousand years ago to begin their journey into the underworld to offer sacrifices (sometimes human ones) to the Gods with only torches to light the way.

II. Abandon Hope Ye Who Enter


Come prepared to get wet. Very wet. To enter the cave, you'll need to jump into the grotto and swim about 20 feet to the other side. Your feet won't be able to touch the bottom. Don't freak out, the only thing swimming with you will be a few tiny fish.

Inside, your journey will include climbing and maneuvering over, under, and around rocks - including a few tight squeezes. But mostly, you'll be wading through the cave's river and pools, which vary in depth. Unfortunately, few photos exist that show this part of the trek, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

III. This Cave� Rocks!


Throughout the adventure, you'll see an impressive array of cave formations, like stalagmites and stalactites that have been continuously forming for hundreds of thousands of years. You'll also enter some spectacular dry rooms, including the expansive main chamber (pictured below).


IV. Mayan Relics Abound


After entering the cavernous main chamber (it'll require a little climbing), you'll need to remove your shoes and continue on in just your socks to help preserve the cave and artifacts.

Continuing deeper into the cave, the presence of the ancient Mayans turns from metaphysical to tangible as clay pots left behind ages ago begin to appear in the darkness. Brought in to appease the Gods, these pots held offerings like food and animal blood.


But when these offerings didn't appear to be work (when war, drought or famine persisted), the Mayans took their sacrificial offerings to a new level - by offering the blood of humans which was ceremoniously collected in the cave (often by piercing the tongue with the spine of a stingray).

And when human blood didn't seem to do the trick, well�

V. Let's Talk Human Sacrifice


In dire times, Mayan's offered the ultimate sacrifice to their Gods - people. Within Actun Tunichil Muknal rests the skeletal remains of 14 human sacrifices, including those of seven children. All are not visible and the bones of most remain scattered, buried or semi-buried on account of being displaced by running water and covered in sediment.


VI. Finally, In A Hidden Chamber� The Crystal Maiden


Before turning back, you'll make one final stop. Using a ladder (the only human device throughout the entire cave brought in to assist visitors), you'll climb up and into a small room. Crouching down, you'll shuffle forward a few feet and come face to face with the Crystal Maiden - the name given to the fully intact skeleton which has been lying here for more than 1,000 years.

For years, it was believed the skeleton was that of a 20-year-old female, but later science determined that it's actually that of a male of about the same age. After a thousand years of being dripped on by water falling from the ceiling, his bones are now calcified and sparkle ever so slightly under light.


Climbing back down the ladder, lost in thought, you'll begin the journey back to the cave's entrance. After twisting and turning your body through some tight passageways (one just big enough to squeeze your neck through�while treading water), you'll emerge from the underworld and into the sun-filled jungle.

How To Go:

Only government approved tour operators are allowed to lead groups into Actun Tunichil Muknal. A simple Google search for "Actun Tunichil Muknal Tour" is all it takes to get started.

Tip: Since Actun Tunichil Muknal is located in the far west of the country, and tours depart in the morning, you'll most likely need to spend the night before in the region (and we highly recommend spending a few nights in the jungle anyway). Your hotel will be able to set you up on a tour, and some hotels even have their own guides.

Chaa Creek, Belize's original jungle eco-resort, makes it easy to organize your Actun Tunichil Muknal trip through the hotel's activities concierge.

Price: Most tours range from $90 to $110 per person.

Good To Know:

You will see bats and maybe a spider or two. Keep your cool, you will survive. Since 2012, cameras have been strictly prohibited within the cave (thanks to someone dropping their camera on a skull and cracking it). The photos seen here were taken several years ago, before the ban.

In a world with a "If I can't post a photo of me doing this to Instagram, did it ever really happen?" mentality, it's kind of nice to be forced to see and remember the world with your eyes and brain, not with a camera.

What To Bring:

For guys: athletic undies with shorts or a bathing suit and a long or short sleeve shirt. For ladies: a bathing suit with shorts or yoga pants and a long or short sleeve shirt. Don't forget to wear socks.

The most important thing is having the right shoes, becasue Belize is humid and it could take days for regular sneakers to dry out. Chacos, like the Outcross 1 for men and the Outcross 1 for women, were made for a situation like this.

For more, check out this video from Don Wildman



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