Lanquin Caves
Lanquin Caves
4.5
About
These limestone caves are part of a national park system, with many of the caverns lit by lanterns for visitors to explore.
Duration: < 1 hour
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.5
259 reviews
Excellent
146
Very good
66
Average
32
Poor
7
Terrible
8
Karen Z
36 contributions
Jul 2019 • Family
Did this tour with my husband and our 19 and 12 year old daughters! It was fantastic! We were there in early July 2019 and were lucky enough to have a day her and at Semuc Chamoey that was almost tourist free! The water starts at ankle level but as you go deeper into the cave you will need to pull yourself across pools by the ropes hanging overhead (one handed of course so you can hold your candle). Climb some rocks and jump into a deep dark pool! Free fall over a small waterfalls edge at the end of the trip just to top off your adventure! I highly recommend this adventure!
Written April 19, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rosh145
London, UK1,750 contributions
Sept 2017 • Friends
This is great fun but not ideal for those that can't swim or those they are claustrophobic. You walk/swim through the caves with a candle and you may get a few scrapes as it very dark. There is some climbing involved. It take about an hour to get to the end and another hour to get back. They don't warn you but this requires a small amount of fitness.
Written September 3, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Naomi F
United Kingdom878 contributions
Aug 2017
Don't confuse the Lanquin Caves with the caves down in Semuc Champey. The caves here can be explored without a guide and are best visited just before dusk so you can see the impressive flurry of bats flying out at sun down (and I mean thousands) The entry is 30 a person (maybe 10 for kids) and there is NO WATER TO WADE THROUGH. The floor can still be very wet due to condensation build up from the nearby waterfalls and you will 100% need a light of some kind (our iPhones were good enough to walk with but perhaps not for seeing the cave itself) To get there you walk away from town towards the entry for Zephyr Lodge. You carry on about 1km past the turning and the caves are sign posted. Alternatively take a tuc tuc or organise a tour through your accomodation. Alternatively you can go earlier in the day and do tubing along the very fast flowing river - this needs arranging through your hostel. Either way it will only take a couple hours of your day.
The caves most people are talking about involve a guided tour around Semuc Champey, combined with a short hike and a visit to the turquoise pools. This tour would not be suitable for young children and it is recommended you wear water shoes or closed shoes. This tour will take your whole day from 9/10am - 5/6pm
The caves most people are talking about involve a guided tour around Semuc Champey, combined with a short hike and a visit to the turquoise pools. This tour would not be suitable for young children and it is recommended you wear water shoes or closed shoes. This tour will take your whole day from 9/10am - 5/6pm
Written August 28, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tr0urist
New York City, NY7 contributions
Jun 2013 • Friends
Beware - the Lanquin caves should be a reminder to you that safety standards are NOT the same as in more developed countries.
Several of my friends and myself were injured to various degrees, some very seriously (cerebral commotion, fractures) at this place because we went inside at the beginning of a heavy rainfall which caused the current to become strong and water levels to rise.
Read the other negative reviews, they describe the general lack of safety. If you decide to go in regardless, make sure there is no rain forecast, that you bring your own waterproof electric headlight, that you are wearing canyoning shoes, AND THAT YOU HAVE A GREAT TRAVEL INSURANCE and are willing to take a significant risk.
I've heard rumors that the locals say the tourists who got in accidents in the past were unfit, overweight, etc. Our group was composed of fit twenty-somethings and we got hurt and traumatised.
Several of my friends and myself were injured to various degrees, some very seriously (cerebral commotion, fractures) at this place because we went inside at the beginning of a heavy rainfall which caused the current to become strong and water levels to rise.
Read the other negative reviews, they describe the general lack of safety. If you decide to go in regardless, make sure there is no rain forecast, that you bring your own waterproof electric headlight, that you are wearing canyoning shoes, AND THAT YOU HAVE A GREAT TRAVEL INSURANCE and are willing to take a significant risk.
I've heard rumors that the locals say the tourists who got in accidents in the past were unfit, overweight, etc. Our group was composed of fit twenty-somethings and we got hurt and traumatised.
Written May 24, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hard K
Guatemala City, Guatemala6 contributions
Apr 2015 • Friends
If you don't like dark places you won't like caves. The water was a little cold but not so bad since you aren't in it the whole time. I ran into several rocks in the water. I recommend a closed shoe so your feet don't get roughed up, such as a water shoe.-
Written April 8, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Specty
Auckland Central, New Zealand46 contributions
Jul 2011 • Friends
I was totally amazed from Guatemala, spent there more time then I intended originally, from the north (Tikal, Flores and Lago Peten Itza), through the centre beuatiful country with Lanquin and Coban) to the south (Antigua, Lago de Atitlan and Chichicastenango).
The best stands out the Lanquin - Semuc Champey cave tour, where you experience unbelievable candle tour (I call it like that as you swim literally in the cave and you have candle in one hand). You can play the stalagnites, jump in the cave lake from the cave inside stone wall, climb the ladders etc.) It is cold though, two hours lasting tour. Nevertheless you are not cold from the adventure you are doing and for me personally it was one of the best I have experienced from the overall Central America round trip.
We had really nice tourguide, but half the price you are offered directly in the Zephyr especially! Go rather take the tour around the streets of Lanquin, and especially down the streets of the Lanquin, there are agencies, much cheaper but with the same quality services!
The best stands out the Lanquin - Semuc Champey cave tour, where you experience unbelievable candle tour (I call it like that as you swim literally in the cave and you have candle in one hand). You can play the stalagnites, jump in the cave lake from the cave inside stone wall, climb the ladders etc.) It is cold though, two hours lasting tour. Nevertheless you are not cold from the adventure you are doing and for me personally it was one of the best I have experienced from the overall Central America round trip.
We had really nice tourguide, but half the price you are offered directly in the Zephyr especially! Go rather take the tour around the streets of Lanquin, and especially down the streets of the Lanquin, there are agencies, much cheaper but with the same quality services!
Written February 1, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pinkmomma3
Winston Salem, NC132 contributions
Jul 2022
My family visited Kan-Ba Cave, nearest to Semuc Champey with our teens in July 2022. We have been in caves before and we enjoy nature and adventures; however, I would emphatically NOT recommend this experience. Our young guide was friendly, agile and helpful; however the cave itself was full of risks and hazards. I had read up on the cave tour a little prior to going, so I knew to expect to wade through chest deep water and carry candles; however, I was not prepared for the tight squeezes and climbing up multiple, rustic, slippery ladders laid across rocks and somewhat secured in place with ropes. There was no way to secure your footing on each ladder rung, because it was laid across the rock, and it was tricky trying to climb up (and down) while holding a dripping candle in one hand. I had read something about jumping off the waterfall inside the cave (which we indicated to our guide that we were not interested in) and thankfully, he didn't give us the 'surprise hold-your-breath chute experience', which I heard about from others later. Imagine someone telling you to hold your breath and shoving you under the water in a dark cave, while they push you down a flowing river, only to pop up in a very small space where they were able to catch their breath and go under again, before coming out of the chute?? Honestly, that would have been terrifying, and it was for the backpackers we met later who shared this experience. I was super-thankful that our guide didn't "surprise" us.
Also, on the little hike, before the cave tour, we were invited to swing out into the river, between two tall metal poles. After demonstrating, we also turned this down, as I HAD read that this experience could lead to injury. If you didn't jump at the precise moment, as the swing went out over the water, there was a high likelihood you would suffer the impact of one of the narrowly-spaced metal swing base poles. In fact, I met another woman who had abdominal bleeding from landing 'the wrong way' in the water. She was headed back to Antigua for medical care.
Once back in Antigua, I noticed a staple-like mark on the back of my arm. While in the cave, adrenaline was high, it was dark, I was in the back of the group, bat bites can occur with as little pain or notice as a mosquito bite, bats carry rabies and well, rabies is fatal!! Once you show symptoms of rabies, you WILL die, if you were not treated earlier. I couldn't say definitively if I might have been bitten by a bat or not, but it looked like it, the marks matched photos I found online, and a day later, it turned to small bruises, indicating some sort of impact occur (I don't routinely injure myself with a stapler, I'm just sayin'). Needless to say, it's a good thing we were back in Antigua by then, because I was able to get the rabies vaccines for potential rabies exposure (go to the Centro de Salud in N. Antigua for free treatment or pay for treatment at several of the small, private hospitals.). I chose to stay an extra week to be treated, as rabies treatment in the USA is thousands of dollars!
Certainly, we expect additional risks in 3rd world countries, and when participating in remote area opportunities like this; however, when we returned and chatted with experienced backpackers, they also shared their concern about the safety risks and echoed that they would not have taken the tour if they had full knowledge of the potential danger. As a mother of teens and the sister of a traumatic brain injury survivor, this experience was ripe with 'what could go wrong'. I apologized to my family repeatedly for putting them in such a hazardous situation. Skip this cave, opt for extra time at the pools (truly gorgeous, but slippery).
Also, on the little hike, before the cave tour, we were invited to swing out into the river, between two tall metal poles. After demonstrating, we also turned this down, as I HAD read that this experience could lead to injury. If you didn't jump at the precise moment, as the swing went out over the water, there was a high likelihood you would suffer the impact of one of the narrowly-spaced metal swing base poles. In fact, I met another woman who had abdominal bleeding from landing 'the wrong way' in the water. She was headed back to Antigua for medical care.
Once back in Antigua, I noticed a staple-like mark on the back of my arm. While in the cave, adrenaline was high, it was dark, I was in the back of the group, bat bites can occur with as little pain or notice as a mosquito bite, bats carry rabies and well, rabies is fatal!! Once you show symptoms of rabies, you WILL die, if you were not treated earlier. I couldn't say definitively if I might have been bitten by a bat or not, but it looked like it, the marks matched photos I found online, and a day later, it turned to small bruises, indicating some sort of impact occur (I don't routinely injure myself with a stapler, I'm just sayin'). Needless to say, it's a good thing we were back in Antigua by then, because I was able to get the rabies vaccines for potential rabies exposure (go to the Centro de Salud in N. Antigua for free treatment or pay for treatment at several of the small, private hospitals.). I chose to stay an extra week to be treated, as rabies treatment in the USA is thousands of dollars!
Certainly, we expect additional risks in 3rd world countries, and when participating in remote area opportunities like this; however, when we returned and chatted with experienced backpackers, they also shared their concern about the safety risks and echoed that they would not have taken the tour if they had full knowledge of the potential danger. As a mother of teens and the sister of a traumatic brain injury survivor, this experience was ripe with 'what could go wrong'. I apologized to my family repeatedly for putting them in such a hazardous situation. Skip this cave, opt for extra time at the pools (truly gorgeous, but slippery).
Written September 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Maartje V
2 contributions
Apr 2022 • Couples
Be careful with visiting caves in Guatamala! Me and my boyfriend became very sick about 12 days after our visit with high fever, chest pain and coughing and severe headaches. After a lot of tests in the hospital, the doctors discovered we were infected with histoplasmosis (a severe fungal infection which you can get from breathing in the spores in bat and bird droppings, especially prevalent in caves in central america). During the tour the guide will take some guano from the walls and make stripes on your face, which probably resulted in breathing in a lot of spores and therefore a more severe infection. Luckily we recovered after a month but the disease can be fatal when you have a weak immune system and are not give the proper antifungal treatment in time.
Written August 14, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Regina F
Guatemala City, Guatemala138 contributions
Jun 2016 • Family
I had heard about this place for years, and thought it would be a tiny cave. After walking about 400 meters into it, I realized how big it is! Not as impressive as Candelaria, but definitely worth visiting!
Written July 3, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ExpatAntigua
Guatemala18 contributions
Jun 2016 • Business
The caves in Lanquin were part of a tour I took, but we didn't realize, so we didn't bring flashlights. The guide had one, but we were all given candles. It made for a very interesting trek through the caves. It felt like we'd gone back a few decades!
The rocks in the cave are slippery and there is bat guano everywhere, so take along hand sanitizer. There are railings to help you get past the steepest parts. It's best to go with a guide so he can show you the various formations, like a turtle, tiger and cacao pod within the cave.
We only did the most direct route to the sacred place where Mayans still hold their rituals, but there are apparently many more routes to take. Some members of our party found it difficult to get up and down the steps, however, so we didn't do the other areas of the caves.
I personally really enjoyed the trip and found it fascinating to enter a space where Mayans have been going for hundreds of years. Might not be for small children, but definitely worth checking out.
The rocks in the cave are slippery and there is bat guano everywhere, so take along hand sanitizer. There are railings to help you get past the steepest parts. It's best to go with a guide so he can show you the various formations, like a turtle, tiger and cacao pod within the cave.
We only did the most direct route to the sacred place where Mayans still hold their rituals, but there are apparently many more routes to take. Some members of our party found it difficult to get up and down the steps, however, so we didn't do the other areas of the caves.
I personally really enjoyed the trip and found it fascinating to enter a space where Mayans have been going for hundreds of years. Might not be for small children, but definitely worth checking out.
Written June 11, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
So we are going to Guatemala in August. Might slightly rain off and on. We are planning on leaving Guatemala City to Semuc Champey on Sunday morning at around 6am to hopefully make it by 12-12:30pm. My question is, will we be okay driving to Semuc Champey with a Toyota Corolla? And will it take about 6 hours of driving? We also want to do a turn around and leave Semuc by 3:30 to make it back to Guatemala City that same night. Let me know your thoughts and recommendations. Also we don’t have a lot of time there only 7 days that’s why we are trying to do a turn around the same day.
Written May 29, 2019
Please don't do this in one day. The drive is a good 7 hours each way. The roads are ok, but rough in spots. There are large, slow, trucks in several spots along the way. There are a couple of markets and food stops along the way that are worth stopping for. Which will add to the 7 hours.
The roads are very dark at night. There are pedestrians and dogs walking between villages, you won't see them until you hear them meeting you car. The signs are small, though there aren't many turns and you'll have GPS.
Semuc Champay is worth far more than a couple of hours' stop at the caves. See the caves and the pools in one day, that can be done. That means staying two nights in or near Lanquin.
I stayed at Utopia Eco Lodge (I think), very cool spot. Nestled in the jungle, next to a charming river, with dorms, rooms, and cottages. Amazing staff, and very eclectic travelers staying there. Good food, very amenable bar. And quite reasonable.
Again, please don't do this in one day roundtrip. You'll be exhausted at the end of it, and all you'll really have is a notch in your belt, check-off on the checklist, something like that.
Written May 29, 2019
As others have said, it depends on the 5-year old. I was there in February 2019, you can see quite a lot of the cave without swimming in the dark. There are bare bulbs lighting the way for a good bit of exploring the cave. Our group included some older folks (70's) who managed quite well. If you have more than one adult, one can hang back with the 5-year-old while the other forges ahead. There are lots of cool spots to rest and explore strange life forms and small pools along the path. Which does include some slippery clambering over rock outcrops, but they're all manageable.
Written May 29, 2019
Grutas Las Marias e Lanquin Caves sono la stessa cosa?
Perché il sito mi indica 70 recensioni e posso leggere solo la prima?
Succede la stessa cosa con altri argomenti: su Samuc Champey posso leggere solo le prime 2 recensioni?.. C'é qualcuno che puó spiegarmi? Grazie
Written July 12, 2016
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