Barton Creek & Xunantuinch Ruins

As a historically important site, Barton Creek Cave is a sprawling system with a recorded 6,400 meters of passages and an estimated 8 kilometers more. Unlike many of the other caves through Belize, it’s the calm creek flowing through it that makes this adventure the least difficult of all the cave tours.

Done entirely in canoes, visitors are gently whisked into the cathedral-like entrance with its towering stalactites and gorgeous structures only to soon find themselves immersed in the dark of the cave system with only the lights on the boats to reveal the mysteries inside.

While Barton Creek is impressive for its sheer size and depth, the canoes remain on a course through the areas most traveled. Guides bring you deep into the cave so you can marvel at the shimmer from the countless crystal formations then turn the canoe around so your journey can end where it began.

As a cave, Barton Creek served as an important place of worship for the ancient Maya. Though looting was rampant upon discovery of the system, Barton Creek has nevertheless remained a place of historical significance. Archaeologists still find remnants of Mayan culture within and have found no less than 28 different human remains. Even with such a large collection of historical majesty, it’s the natural formations that make this cave truly special.

+ Xunantunich Maya Ruins

Whether or not the legend is true, a journey to Xunantunich is a journey into a place of mysticism. As the Mayan empire crumbled across the Yucatan, Xunantunich’s power grew. It became such an important center that it even managed to construct the second tallest man-made structure in Belize, El Castillo. Excavations also show that it was completely deserted during the Classic Period due to some sudden catastrophic event theorized to be an earthquake.