Page 6 - Inspired 2016 - Issue 3
P. 6

DELVE INTO THE
MYSTICAL MAYA CAVES OF BELIZE...
I F YOU
magine descending, one by one, into the drive and a hike from Belize City, this well- gaping mouth of a cavernous sinkhole in preserved snapshot into Maya culture features the middle of a jungle. A vertical shaft skeletal remains, Maya pottery and ceremonial
of sunlight illuminates the space, while tinkling waterfalls echo in the darkness surrounding you. As you gain your footing in the knee-deep lagoon, you shine a flashlight around to find yourself in a crystalized cave with high, vaulted ceilings and stalactite-lined walls that appear as if sculpted by gods. Any fear you might have felt during the descent has been instantly replaced by awe.
The ancient Maya people felt the same way whenever they entered these natural sinkholes, called cenotes. Crucial to their survival, cenotes exposed fresh groundwater and underground cave rivers that pulsed like mystic veins throughout their realm.
Mayas believed cenotes were portals to a magical underworld called Xibalba, which, roughly translated, meant place of awe or place of fear, depending on how frightenable you are. According to legend, 12 Maya gods ruled this subterranean kingdom, which included grand houses, a ball-court, gardens and temples that rivaled the ones above. Back then, visitors had to pass through great obstacles and cross scorpion-  lled rivers to experience this world; nowadays, travelers simply go to Belize.
That is where you will  nd the Actun Tunichil Muknal, which Mayas called the “Cave of the Stone Sepulcher” and tourists call ATM. A short
artifacts—most of which lies exactly where it wasfound.
To reach the cave, you’ll  rst take a captivating 45-minute hike through shallow rivers and swaying jungles of the Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve, where you just might catch a glimpse of howler monkeys and the Baird’s tapir, the country’s national animal. The entrance to ATM is hard to miss—a striking hourglass-shaped hole in the side of a hill, with clear, cascading water pouring from its yawning mouth.
The interior of the cave is half museum, half waterpark. You’ll hike, crawl, swim and slide over moss-covered rocks and through tranquil lagoons, spotting 1,000 year old pots and ceramic plates along the way. You may occasionally feel a bat or otter speed by, but for the most part you’re free to roam the 1.5 kilometer passage to the main chamber, a massive cave called The Cathedral.
Here is where you will  nd one of the cave’s “highlights,” a stark reminder of how times have changed. Known as the Crystal Maiden, this full skeleton of a young Maya girl sacri ced more than 1,000 years ago lies in a reclined position, her shimmering bones now calci ed as if part of the rock formations. She glitters in the rays of your headlamp—beautiful, ethereal, unforgettable. Just like the cave itself.
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