Semuc Champey Waterfalls and Stalactite Caves in Guatemala
65 km east of Coban, near the town of Lanquin, there are two impressive nature sites:
The spectacular Semuc Champey waterfalls and the Lanquin caves, which are also a Maya ceremonial site.
Another area with stalactite caves called Candelaria Caves is located about 25 km northeast of the town of Chisec.
The roads throughout the area and around the city of Coban are in poor maintenance condition. When the road is paved with asphalt, it is usually full of potholes. Certain sections of the road, sometimes tens of kilometers, are not paved with asphalt at all. It is recommended to drive here only in a 4X4 off-road vehicle. Local residents (including young children) pretend to be road maintainers and ask for money for their work from the cars passing by.
Lodging in the Area
Lodging in the area of Santa Cruz Verapaz can serve as a starting point for the aforementioned trips.
Recommended Hotels:
Park Hotel
A huge four-star hotel spanning a vast area near Santa Cruz Verapaz with three successful restaurants, a swimming pool, a tropical forest, and even a zoo.
Casa Imperial Coban
A quality suite hotel featuring pampering suites of various sizes, some with a jacuzzi. The hotel features a restaurant and well-tended gardens. Free internet and parking.
Semuc Champey Waterfalls
Semuc Champey waterfalls are considered a popular tourist site in Guatemala. The meaning of the park's name in the Maya language: "hidden water" or "underground water". The waterfalls feature a special natural phenomenon: the waterfalls are located above the Cahabon River, while the river itself does not flow into the waterfalls but carved a tunnel beneath them:
Guided tours to Semuc Champey:
And there it flows rapidly while the waterfalls above are fed by springs and their waters are quiet and pleasant in lovely turquoise colors with large natural swimming pools for the bathers' enjoyment. A wonderful place for swimming and refreshing in quiet and clear waters.
Inside the park, you walk along wooden platforms from the point where the river pours and exits from beneath the waterfalls:
You continue walking alongside a series of waterfall pools to the point where the river flows rapidly beneath the waterfall lakes and spring waters flowing slowly from the mountain fill the waterfall pools.
Near the park is a simple lodge with a restaurant offering a nice view of the river for lunch.
Action lovers can take guided tours to water-filled caves where they walk in the dark with flashlights and then tube out down the rushing river.
Video of Semuc Champey Waterfalls:
Lanquin Caves
The caves are one of Guatemala's first national parks and are located near the town of Lanquin by a green river of the same name: Lanquin, where you can go tubing. The cave tour is guided by a local guide who distributes flashlights to travelers because the cave is completely dark.
Inside the cave there are many small bats, spiders, and other insects.
Walking is on slippery rocks until reaching the place where the Maya hold religious ceremonies four times a year. While walking in the cave, the guide points out natural sculptures that look like a turtle, snake, bird, etc.
Video of Lanquin Caves:
Candelaria Caves
From Coban, drive north about 100 km to Candelaria Caves. On the way, you pass the city of Chisec. It is worth stopping here for refreshment. I happened to arrive here on a Sunday and the local Catholic church was bustling with people. Adults and children prayed and sang. At the entrance of the church, various foods were sold. Children ran around unhindered in the church during the prayer. Upbeat and happy music was played.
All the people are Maya. In this area, the Maya have a slightly different appearance, they are darker, with high cheekbones and more slanted eyes.
Nearby there was also a smaller, Protestant church which was also completely full of worshippers.
The central square was also full of people. Next to it, by a bank, there was a very long queue of men standing quietly and waiting. It turns out these are workers who worked in the fields and this is their day to receive cash wages.
From Chisec, you continue north for about half an hour to Candelaria Caves. The whole area is full of caves of all sizes.
Near the cave we visited, a person of French origin established a lodge and restaurant named Candelaria Lodge. The place is charming with well-tended gardens abounding with trees, bushes, and flowers. He also grows plants intended for perfume production.
The place offers a guided tour through the gardens and plantations up to the cave, including a walk inside the dark cave with flashlights.
In the caves, you can see remnants of pottery jars and other tools, evidence that the Maya were in these caves long ago in 700 AD. These caves played an important role in ancient Maya history and were considered the entrance to Xibalba, the underworld, as mentioned in the sacred scriptures "Popol Vuh" of the Quiche Maya tribes.
There are of course also stalactites, stalagmites, and pillars in the cave, some intact and some broken, evidence of the many earthquakes that occurred in the area.
Some of the stones and pillars resemble various figures of a turtle, head, family, and even a city. In this cave too there are bats, but much fewer than the one in Lanquin. It is more ventilated and dry. The road to the cave is quite muddy.
The tour of the cave and gardens takes about an hour and a half.
It is recommended to have a quality lunch at the French restaurant on site.
The hotel also organizes river tubing including a visit to another small cave.
Video of Candelaria Caves and Lodge:
Guatemala Map
Articles about Guatemala on our site: Trip to Antigua | Trip to Pacaya Volcano and Hot Springs | Trip to Lake Atitlan and its surroundings | Semuc Champey Waterfalls and Stalactite Caves | Trip to the Ixil Triangle | Trip to Rio Dulce and Cruise to Livingston City | Trip to Quirigua Ruins