Lake Atitlan: Mayan Ceremony at the Sacred Caves
Overview
Visit the most sacred and holy locations around Lake Atitlan. Shaman priest perform Fire ceremony at sacred caves for healing, protection, safe travels, and for centering their energy. This is a once in a lifetime experience! You will experience an ancient Mayan custom at a fire cleansing and protection ceremony at the Sacred Caves of Lake Atitlan. The modern day Fire Ceremony is how the Mayan of today connect with the old wisdom known as the Mayan Cosmovision.
Immerse yourself in the mysticism of a holy place, and learn why the highland tribes travel for hours to connect with the spirits. Your guide will explain why the ceremonies are performed, and teach you about the ritual and unique meanings of the Mayan calendar.
You will witness shamans performing ceremony on most days, although this is can not be guaranteed.
Immerse yourself in the mysticism of a holy place, and learn why the highland tribes travel for hours to connect with the spirits. Your guide will explain why the ceremonies are performed, and teach you about the ritual and unique meanings of the Mayan calendar.
You will witness shamans performing ceremony on most days, although this is can not be guaranteed.
Inclusions
- Local guide
What to expect
Experience an important ceremony of the Maya people of Guatemala at the most sacred and holy location on Lake Atitlan.
Transfer to the trail-head from Panajachel. Then, walk to the 1st cave (a maximum 20-minute hike). Named “Nimajay”, “San Simon”, “Enchanted” and “Colorado”, the 4 caves have been used by the Mayans for centuries for their Fire Cleansing and Protection Ceremony. The highland tribes travel for hours to visit the holy caves, and you will feel the energy and power as soon as you approach the cave entrance.
Watch the shamans perform the ceremony (not guaranteed, but available on most days) and experience an authentic part of the living Mayan culture of the Guatemala highlands. Your guide will explain why the ceremonies are performed and teach you about the ritual and unique meanings of the Mayan calendar.
Located 1, 200 feet above Lake Atitlan, the caves offer panoramic views of the lake and caldera. Stand on top of Eagle Rock and marvel at how the earth drops hundreds of feet around you. Feel your spirit soar like a bird as you stand with nothing but air on all sides.
You can also visit the shrine of San Simon/Maximon, the colonial church and a 200 feet waterfall.
Transfer to the trail-head from Panajachel. Then, walk to the 1st cave (a maximum 20-minute hike). Named “Nimajay”, “San Simon”, “Enchanted” and “Colorado”, the 4 caves have been used by the Mayans for centuries for their Fire Cleansing and Protection Ceremony. The highland tribes travel for hours to visit the holy caves, and you will feel the energy and power as soon as you approach the cave entrance.
Watch the shamans perform the ceremony (not guaranteed, but available on most days) and experience an authentic part of the living Mayan culture of the Guatemala highlands. Your guide will explain why the ceremonies are performed and teach you about the ritual and unique meanings of the Mayan calendar.
Located 1, 200 feet above Lake Atitlan, the caves offer panoramic views of the lake and caldera. Stand on top of Eagle Rock and marvel at how the earth drops hundreds of feet around you. Feel your spirit soar like a bird as you stand with nothing but air on all sides.
You can also visit the shrine of San Simon/Maximon, the colonial church and a 200 feet waterfall.
Additional information
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
Cancellation
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.
stephanie_s
February 2023
Experience enrichissante. Notre guide et Shaman étaient très accueillants et ont prit le temps de répondre à toutes nos questions.
Experience enrichissante. Notre guide et Shaman étaient très accueillants et ont prit le temps de répondre à toutes nos questions.ciaohermosa
August 2023
I did the private Mayan shaman ceremony in a sacred cave. It's advertised that you take a chicken bus up to the cave and your guide will explain the ceremony and the caves as well as the Mayan calendar and you will receive your Mayan horoscope.hen a shaman will do a ceremony based on one of 5 top...
I did the private Mayan shaman ceremony in a sacred cave. It's advertised that you take a chicken bus up to the cave and your guide will explain the ceremony and the caves as well as the Mayan calendar and you will receive your Mayan horoscope.hen a shaman will do a ceremony based on one of 5 topics: healing, protection, safe travels, cleansing of bad energy, or insight into challenges in your life. I will start by saying the location and the cave itself were amazing and the shaman was great. He was professional and and I felt a powerful energy during and after the experience. My 3 stars is for the guide and what I feel is a misleading description of the tour. First off, I was given a location to meet my guide, who was not there at the time. I asked someone nearby who brought me to him (he was sitting in his car). We then drove to the cave (no chicken bus, which might be a pro for you but I was looking forward to it). The ceremony is done completely in a local language and Spanish. If you do not speak fluent Spanish, do not do this tour. My Spanish is intermediate and I had difficulty understanding the shaman, when I asked the guide to help translate, he completely mistranslated what was said. He also wasn't able to answer any of my questions (in Spanish or English) about the cave, horoscope, or ceremony. It felt more like he was a driver than a guide. The owner was very responsive when booking/taking my money, but when I had a follow-up question about the horoscope reading, she became unresponsive. I then received a Whatsapp message that was copied from google about my sign. For $150 private tour, this seemed like I was ripped off a bit. If you're interested in this experience, book with another company or ask around for a local shaman and book yourself.Kavita_C
June 2023
Of all the excursions we did in Guatemala this was hands-down the most special thing we did. I was a bit skeptical since no other tourists were aware of this however, I cannot recommend this enough to you if you are looking to connect spiritually with the ancient Mayans culture. Our guide Alex m...
Of all the excursions we did in Guatemala this was hands-down the most special thing we did. I was a bit skeptical since no other tourists were aware of this however, I cannot recommend this enough to you if you are looking to connect spiritually with the ancient Mayans culture. Our guide Alex met us promptly on time and started the tour with a ride on the chicken bus to the starting point of our hike, which was such a pleasant surprise! On the bus the historical and cultural significance of the ceremony were explained so we could appreciate it once we were in the cave. From the starting point of the hike to the cave was maybe 10-15 minutes. There were some slippery parts so I recommend sneakers with good grip. At the cave, there are many locals conducting their own ceremonies, which you can watch as Alex continues to explain the different things going on around us. Our cleansing ceremony involved own prayers, and lighting a candle to banish bad spirits. After some moments of silence, you hike out of the cave to a stunning overlook to have time to meditate further, and attract good energy/spirits. My friend and I were deeply moved by this experience and are SO grateful to have gotten a chance to participate. Truly something that we could not have done it anywhere else in the world.katherineaA6766YS
June 2023
I would like to start off and mention what an incredible tour guy we had!! Mario exceeded my expectation in every sort of way possible. One hour prior to my tour i had a car accident on may down to Panajachel. he accommodated my entire family with rescheduling our trip picking us and dropping us ...
I would like to start off and mention what an incredible tour guy we had!! Mario exceeded my expectation in every sort of way possible. One hour prior to my tour i had a car accident on may down to Panajachel. he accommodated my entire family with rescheduling our trip picking us and dropping us off. In the mist of all issues he was a helping hand!!! As far as the actual tour it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience, i would recommend this trip if your into spirituality if your a believer and if you fully immerse yourself in the experience. I shed a few tears because i felt a strong connection with his reading/ cleanse. I traveled with 2 teenage children and they also felt this was a memorable experience something different. Some of the other adventures in Panajachel we had already done in other places so we were definitely interested in this type of tour. the readings were spot on !!!! 10 out ten I can not give enough credit to my tour guide .......exceptionalJames_N
March 2023
This experience was very impactful for me as I‘ve been taking on a lot of energies during the couple months prior. Marcelino, our personal Mayan Shaman, took the time to understand each one of our intentions and prayers before the ceremony. Alex, our guide/translator, did an amazing job of helpin...
This experience was very impactful for me as I‘ve been taking on a lot of energies during the couple months prior. Marcelino, our personal Mayan Shaman, took the time to understand each one of our intentions and prayers before the ceremony. Alex, our guide/translator, did an amazing job of helping us understand the Mayan culture and fire ceremony process. Thank you again Marcelino and Alex for allowing us into the sacred caves and providing the cleansing, healing, and protection we requested! ✨♥️💫zoen912
February 2023
This experience was a highlight of my trip! Our guide was so kind and taught us so much about the mayan culture and what this experience would be like. We opted for the shaman and he did not disappoint! It started with a ride on a chicken bus, then a short hike to take us to a black cave with an ...
This experience was a highlight of my trip! Our guide was so kind and taught us so much about the mayan culture and what this experience would be like. We opted for the shaman and he did not disappoint! It started with a ride on a chicken bus, then a short hike to take us to a black cave with an incredible view. Our shaman asked for our intentions and he blessed us for protection, good luck, and then answered our intentions. He told us according to the mayan calendar what our birthdate means and the positive and negative attributes of this meaning and much more, including ancestoral readings and slight future expectations and how to work on things you may struggle with. PREPARE TO GET DIRTY! As the shaman did the fire the ash would often fall on us (not painful, just black and dirty).