Friday, September 9, 2011

Belize Actun Chapat Cave - Get Ready For Excitement, Mystery, and Fun

What could be more exciting then exploring a cave? The Belize Actun Chapat Cave to be exact. Its Mayan name is Centipede Cave. It doesn't have a known ending. So each time you go, there is the prospect of uncovering something new. Isn't that what adventure is all about? How thrilling to search out places that a different culture of people used in every day life those many, many years ago. The Mayan people used the caves to be closer to their gods. These were places of intense rituals for rain, bountiful crops and future prophecies.

cavewoman costume

Archeologists are still working, studying and learning about these vast caverns. The Belize Actun Chapat Cave is approximately 19 miles south of San Ignacio near the Maya Mountains. There are many details that can be shared about this wonderful place, but on the other hand, there is so much that is unknown. There are many areas that have not been explored, and are just waiting to be discovered. Most of the caves are over run with thick jungle growth. But once there you can see where the Mayans carved sculptures and formations.

Cave

They also constructed terraces and paths all through the many enormous chambers. It will make you wonder what the chambers were used for. The Belize Actun Chapat Cave has captured the attention of archeologists since 1982. That isn't very much time to explore something that has artifacts dating from 300 B.C. and 1000 A.D. There have been over 200 caves that have been cataloged, but only 10 that have been actually examined by the archeologists.

That would leave 190 caves that are just waiting for someone's torchlight to touch the walls and for all the secrets to be uncovered and shared with the rest of the world. Who wouldn't want to be a part of something that overwhelmingly exciting? As for Actun Chapat, it's the construction of terraces and altars that delight today's adventure traveler, as do its giant chambers, each of which was given a specific sacred purpose by the ancient Maya. Like most caves in Belize, there was looting and that's why preserving what is left is so important.

Belize Actun Chapat Cave - Get Ready For Excitement, Mystery, and Fun

Cave

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