Guatemala offers a vast amount of caves
for your discovery and excitement. The Guatemala cave system is
very impressive; it combines the Mayan culture with the natural
beauty and even in some cases with spectacular wildlife.
NOTE: The tour starts in Coban
Candelaria Caves are located in the limestone
hills, 10km west of Raxrujá, where the Río Candelaria
goes underground. Presumed to be 22 kilometres long, with five
entrances, they are thought to be the longest cave in Latin America.
The typical passage widths are 20-30m with a height of 10-60m,
with numerous karst fensters caused by collapse. One truly monumental
chamber is the 200-metre-long Tzul Tacca.
The cave was considered by the ancient Maya
to be the entrance to the underworld of Xibalba, and the cave
contains archeological sites. The Q´eqchi´ Maya still
come to pray in the Candelaria Caves. It is said that the Lacandon
Maya (living in Mexico, just west of the
border with Guatemala) believe that every night the sun
is carried in a basket by the Dioses del Mundo Subterraneo through
a long cave from west to east, to emerge again at daybreak. Perhaps
the Candelaria Cave is the nocturnal pathway of the sun!
