grutas las marias

Great fun but the smallest twist can result in disaster. My partner cracked a rib on last 'water shoot' before the exit. We wouldn't have missed it but there was a price to pay!

My boyfriend and I did the caves as part of the tour to Semuc Champey. Unfortunately we didn't get the change to see Semuc Champey... We started with the tour in the caves. Which is a beautiful place! But be really careful where jump jump. Our guide didn't gave us any explanation about this. So at a certain point the guide jumped into the water. And my boyfriend did the same. But the guide knew exactly where to jump. My boyfriend jump on a rock in the water. And broke his ankle. You can imagine that's not a place where you want to have an accident. They had to carry him out of the cave and he had to swim with his broken ankle. After that, four hours on a dirt road. After 12 hours we were in the hospital in Guatemala city where he needed surgery! Be careful!!!

Its very nice but they only take you for like a 100 meters into the cave. Surroundings are very nice.

This caves were quite an adventure. You walk inside with candles in your hand and you are mostly whole in the water. You swim, climb waterfall, go through tube and jump into some pool. The cave itself is beautiful and worth seeing. I liked it.

This is the cave trip that you do as part of the Semuc Champey day trip. It takes about 90-120 minutes to do the full trip. You are each given a candle and the challenge is to keep it lit until you get to the end and back again. As part of this challenge you need to swim, climb rope ladders, walk through a mini (but powerful) waterfall and climb across narrow/rocky shelves. It is a lot of fun! At the end you can also climb up a steep rock face and jump into the water. Everyone who joined the trip loved it and many talked about it for the rest of their travels in Guatemala. However, there were some people who turned back quite early on as they didn't feel comfortable. Of note is that you can end up with quite a few scrapes and bruises during the trip, but this makes it more exciting and authentic as an experience. I would recommend wearing (old) trainers due to the rocks.

The most irritating thing was that finale in Flores, I saw a flyer with price of a bus to Flores; 50 quetzl is the going race. We had no choice but paying them 200. No thing eco here, hardly Any fruit, Let go coconuts. ..

I visited in 2009 when these were Grutas Las Marias, just visited again and they're now called Kan-ba/Kamba or something (no idea why).Most people will visit on a package tour with Semuc Champey and remember this just as much or more though they hadn't expected it. And part of the beauty is not knowing what you're in for but read on if you want to...As per other reviews the sheer non-western safety standards of this tour is part of the appeal. There is also beauty in swimming through underground pools in pitchblack caves by candlelight. There are 3 major 'events' on the tour (stop reading if you don't like spoilers). 1. Knotted rope up a 2 metre waterfall (fun, pretty tough physically, not good if you wear contacts)2. 2ish meter jump into pool (this is hard because you need to clamber up to a ledge using footholds/handholds, although i saw a fit couple in their 50s do it and then you have to jump in the right area of the pool as there are rocks hidden in some places)3. Squeeze through a hole with running water (my best description - again some footholds and lowering yourself into the seeming unknown)The first 2 are optional (though you'll still need to go up & down several ladders) and the last one everyone has to do. Obviously the whole tour is an accident waiting to happen but (like riding the death road in bolivia) it's one of those experiences that's so far from western comforts that us gringos are strangely attracted to it. I have to admit even for jaded travellers and adrenaline junkies it sets your teeth on edge in a cool way.My only complaint (though the guys running it surely don't check the internet very often) is that in 2009 I had a group of 9 people and the caves to ourselves. In 2014 I was in a group of nearly 30 (with 2 guides) and we bumped into 2 other tour groups while in the caves. Clearly they're getting as much money out of this as they can but it's a shame.And the number 1 tip - as mentioned elsewhere, you either need waterproof shoes (or ones you're happy to get wet). I've done it twice in flip flops tied with string (annoying) and others with no shows at all found that preferable. Enjoy :)

This is a real adventure.This is not a Disney Tour or anything else in North America. This is challenging, exciting and maybe a bit dangerous if you dont go at your pace.But overall, it was very, very cool not really for the cave himself but for the adventure and the waterfall inside it !!!Include in this trip was a small tubbing experience. This one was pretty boring.

We took a tour in Lanquin for Semuc Champey, and this visit was included. So we did not really plan to go there.But it was surely one of the craziest experience of our life! I had no shoes, we received only candels to get a little bit of light, and there is absolutely no security! All this make it a great experience for western people!In most countries, it is the kind of visit that non professional do with two helmets, 35 ropes, 3 torches and two guide who hold your hand everytime you jump 30cm. Here, you can go barefoot with just a swimsuit and a candle! All in all, I don't know what to think: on one hand, its really fun and interesting to experience such a lack of security, on the other hand, it is probably something a little bit stupid to do... I prefer not to imagine how you would be taken out of it if you get seriously hurt (which can happen hunderd times, even if the guide told me that the accidents were really rare). The sign at the entrance is clear : visit at your own risk!And in any case : DON'T GO THERE WITHOUT SHOES!

Definitely not what you'd get in the states, safety does not come first here. But for the adventurous types, this was a really fun tour.

The caves are nice but nowhere near as beautiful as other caves i have seen. I would only recommend this as an activity if you are lanquin for 2 or 3 days, otherwise just go to semuc champey, it's awesome. The caves are 20 mins walk from town, or 5 quetzals per person by tuktuk. The bats didn't fly out as the locals said they do everyday evening at sunset.

The feeling of being inside of a water filled cave is just amazing !! You literally navigate through some underground chambers, with pools and a cascade included !! I loved the experience. Now, you must take into account that there are some risks: 1. You need to know how to swim, since there is some real swimming required in some small parts of the cave. Also, keep in mind that there are submerged rocks that are hard to spot while swimming, so it's relatively easy to hit them....and they can really hurt. So swim slowly 2. The caves are not illuminated, so unless you have your own head light (don't even think of bringing a flash light since it will get wet and ruined),the only ilumination available are the candles that the tour organisers offer at the entrance. The tour guide has a head light but the candles get wet easily and it can get quite dark inside. 3. Unless you have a water proof camera, think twice about bringing your camera inside, since it can get wet very easily...the water inside some areas of the cave is quite deep and you really need to swim. In any case, if you decide to bring your camera, have it protected by towels and/or plastic bags. 4. There are some stairs to climb and you need to go through some really narrow spaces sometimes, so mind your head, your arms and legs all the time....it really hurts to hit a rock, as we all know. 5. I don't think the excursion is appropriate for children, because of the risks involved. 6. There is a place where you can actually jump to a pool.....keep in mind that it's not that deep. And also there is a place where you can choose to climb a stair of grab a rope to get up, right next to a cascade. I found the rope a bit dangerous and I decided to climb the stairs instead. I would say that the risks are manageable in general, and the thrill and beauty of the experience totally compensates them......but you just need to be careful to enjoy the caves and avoid any unnecessary harm.

Las Grutas are the Lanquin bat caves you'll hear people mention. Basically, you go there at sunset (around 6:30-7:00 PM during June when I went) and you watch the bats all fly out of the cave. It's not exactly one big swarm like I had pictured, but it is indeed a LOT of bats. If you like caves, I'd suggest going like... an hour early and bringing a pair of flashlights (for spare light) and hiking into the caves before sunset. We didn't get far enough in because our flashlights were low on batteries, but you can apparently go in and find the river where it flows through the cave and, I would imagine, if you go far enough you'd probably find the bats. Overall, it was a cool experience/I'm glad I went, but if you don't get a chance it isn't going to be a big deal.

(I got the grutas and the Lanquin caves confused when writing this review, so please refer to my review for the Lanquin caves to read about the Grutas. Sorry for the mix up!)

In February the water in the cave was warm and there was not a strong currant, so I felt very save. I had to wade and swim through the cave, climb up some ladders, but on the way out we just slid down the waterfall. An unforgettable experience. It might be more dangerous during the raining season and higher waters.