Tiger Cave
Follow the hilly road through the isolated Maya village of San Miguel to the very end and park your vehicle. As you don your helmets and headlamps, and descend the steep path to the hidden entrance of this cave, you may find yourself feeling like a true explorer. Only a handful of people have visited this cave in the past century. The towering entrance chamber, still illuminated by daylight, is strewn with shards of broken pottery and other evidence of ancient Maya presence. The Maya used this place as a ceremonial site and believed that Tiger Cave was an entrance to the Underworld.
As you step through the first chamber and further into the cave, turn your headlamps on and begin observe the undisturbed stalactites, stalagmites, and other unique rock formations that line the floors, ceilings, and walls. Take advantage of the occasional splash of sunlight and give yourself a break as the fifty-foot caverns sometimes unexpectedly open to daylight overhead. As you walk further into the cave, you may find yourself wanting to explore small passageways and caverns. Go ahead! You may discover an underground river or forgotten artifact.
The journey into the cave is over a mile and only for the very physically fit. Sometimes you will find yourself walking easily across a clay floor, and other times you will be on your hands and knees climbing over boulders. However, those who make it to the end will be rewarded by a final cavern of spectacular crystalline rock formations. |
