Barton Creek Private Tour

This is a canoe tour that takes you through the dark passageway of the Barton Creek Cave. The Maya believed that this cave served as a home for their water god, Chaac. It also served as an entranceway to the underworld, and is the final resting place for some Maya. Experts believe that these skeletons may have belonged to sacrifice victim.

Your adventure starts at 8:00AM as we make our way through and out of San Ignacio Town with a 45 minutes’ drive on a dirt road through a Mennonite farmland called Barton Creek. The scenery as we traverse this farmland is very quaint and pleasantly scenic with hills and valleys stitched with organically grown crops. As we near the park site, there’s a river crossing just shallow enough for vehicles to cross over.

At Barton Creek Cave Site: When we arrive at the park site, your guide checks you into the office and proceeds onto picking your canoe and then helps you to strap on your life jackets and headlamps. Once geared up, we head over to the river bank where your guide would have your canoe awaiting you for your journey into The Mayan Underworld – Xibalba.

The adventure takes flight when you enter the lime stone cave and float for about 1 hour into the cave. Inside the cave we’ll be passing impressive natural crystal formations and various archaeological highlights, all which your guide will be pointing out as you make your way upstream. This tour is very fun-filled and educational as well as refreshing and family- friendly. While inside the cave, at some point of the tour, the guide will ask you to turn off the flash light and you’ll listen to the flow of the water running and the water drops from the caves.

This adventure will amaze you with cathedral-like chambers & wide passages. Sit back and relax while your guide navigates your canoe for a leisurely visit. After exploring the underworld, you will head back into town.

Departing: Upon exiting the cave, we settle down to enjoy a delicious lunch meal link to tours menu (Fajitas, Burritos, Chicken Burger, Club sandwich or their vegetarian alternatives). dues at the canoe shop, board our vehicle and make our way back through the river, the scenic farmland, and back into San Ignacio Town arriving at around 2:00PM. Remember, our combo tours are normally private tours, the duration depends on your leisurely pace. This tour is commonly booked as a combo with any other half day tour such as Big Rock Falls, Xunantunich, Cahal Pech.