The Maya name is “Hokeb Ha”or “Where the water enters the earth” and is located within the Blue Creek 200-acre rainforest preserve and wildlife sanctuary. This very large cave begins near the village of Santa Cruz, where the river rushes underground, resurfacing five mile later near the village of Blue Creek. To reach the cave, you’ll hike approximately twenty minutes over mostly easy terrain. As you approach the cave, the river breaks into small waterfalls and clear pools for swimming.

Headlights in place, life jackets on, you clamber over the rocks of a dry creek bed to reach the river emerging from the cave. You have entered the mysterious underworld of the Maya; then hike/swim to a waterfall inside the cave. Along the way are pristine crystal-clear mineral pools and lagoons. Keep going as far as you can, spending about an hour inside the cave and then enjoy the cave’s colossal beauty as you float out the cave.

This excursion, when done from Placencia, is often preceded with a stop at the Maya Archaeological sites of Lubaantun or Nim Li Punit.

Tiger Cave The cave is also referred to as the San Miguel Cave because it is about a 1.5-hour walk from the Mayan village of San Miguel. The trail passes through second growth forest and n corn milpas and offers an opportunity to learn about the diversity of the rain forest and a first-hand view of Maya farming practices.The cave consists of several chambers that vary from flat to craggy, to full of vegetation to completely dry. Near the entrance, large gaping holes in the ceiling of the cave give way to shafts of sunlight that reveal huge vaulted ceilings, called “The double skylight”. No streams or creeks run through the entrance chamber, although, deeper into the cave, you will have to cross water.