A Day Trip To Semuc Champey

Semuc Champey is not easy to get to. It is out of the way and isolated but that’s part of its appeal. Imagine a jungle landscape with green as far as the eye can see and a beautiful turquoise natural pool in the middle.

If you’re up for a 6 hour bumpy ride into the middle of the Guatemalan jungle then I would suggest staying in Lanquin for 2 or 3 days, relaxing poolside at Zephyr Lodge and doing a day trip to Semuc Champey. I had a lot of fun wondering around the small town itself, hiking to the hill-top church and eating at the local eateries around town.

The highlight of my time in Lanquin was visiting the Kam’ba cave system during the Semuc Champey day trip and putting on my Indiana Jones hat for a couple of hours. It was so much fun and months later I have not been able to stop talking about.

Book your own local guide for your Semuc Champey tour here and read on for advice on how to get the most out of your trip and some Semuc Champey safety tips.

Semuc Champey Day Trip

All of the hotels and hostels in the area will offer a tour to Semuc Champey. It’s really your reason for visiting Lanquin and if you have the time, I recommend this as part of any Central American itinerary. Besides the main attraction of Semuc Champey, there are several other side activities that get to do on a day trip.

Cuevas de Kam'ba

At the time of my visit Zephyr Lodge had stopped offering the cave portion of the tour due to safety and theft concerns so a group of us just booked a complete tour through another hostel. Feel free to ask around but prices were all kind of similar.

One of the funnest things I have ever done in my travels was exploring the Kam'ba Caves at Semuc Chmpey and I’m so glad I took the gamble against my hostel’s warnings. It really isn’t the safest attraction and you are in the middle of the jungle in Guatemala so if you decide to do this trip then I suggest you walk and swim slowly and take your time when doing some more of the riskier activities. Also when walking through some of the darker section, keep a look out for sudden drops from the roof. Watch your head, there are no helmets on this tour!

Once you enter the caves, you are given a candle to light your way. No modern flashlights here! At the entrance the guides will decorate you with war paint fresh from the walls of the cave so it’s a good idea to be nice so you don’t end up with a moustache! Our guide joked it was bat poop but I chose to pretend it was something else.

I was quickly submerged in the cold cave water as we started the two-hour trek into the cave system. This wasn’t my favourite part as I don’t like the cold but I soon forgot about my discomfort when we got to our first adventure. Climbing a wood and rope ladder contraption that looked as old as the caves, one-handed, while trying to keep the candle away in the other hand.

There were a few spots where I actually had to swim through the cave when I couldn’t touch the bottom but luckily there was usually a rope to guide us along. These parts where I was fully submerged is where I got the majority of my bumps and scrapes from the stalagmites poking out from the bottom.

For the extra adventurous, there was an opportunity to scale up a rock face and dive into a deep pool below. I tried my best but I couldn’t get my little legs up there to even attempt the jump. I had also had more than my fair share of Guatemalan tostadas by then so I wasn’t in the best shape.

Halfway through I got to try the most challenging thing I had done in weeks, climbing up a mini waterfall by rope. With my candle down my bikini bottoms for safe keeping I had to scale a small cliff with water rushing into my face while looking out for the best foot holds. This was super fun and super scary. If this is too much for you, there is a slightly less challenging rope ladder that you can climb off to the side to help you get up away from the waterfall.

Towards the end of the trek you get to slide down a natural waterslide through a waterfall into a dark cavern. One of the guides stayed at the top to show you where to slide and one was down below to make sure you landed safely.

The cave tour was honestly worth the 6-hour ride to get to Semuc Champey on its own and its something I would do again in a heartbeat. My friend and I kept talking about how much fun we were having and that we wished we could stay longer. You don’t get much more fun and adventurous than this.

River tubing, bridge jumps and a rope swing

Once you’re out of the cave it’s time to relax. You can look forward to floating gently down the Cahabón River with a beer in your hand and a huge grin on your face. But first I was invited to try out the rope swing into the river. This one hurts if you don't land perfectly straight! Tuck your legs in while you’re swinging and make sure to let go at the end as it won’t be pretty.

Once we had floated all the way down to the rickety old bridge and had climbed out, we were invited to do one last jump - off the 10-metre high bridge into the river below. I had had enough adventure for one day and lunch was calling my name so I just watched the brave souls jump in and then struggle to swim back to shore in the current. What an exhausting morning!

Semuc Champey

After lunch, we walked across the bridge and entered the park of Semuc Champey. At this point you can just head straight to the main attraction and just relax or you can opt to do the one hour long hike to get to the view point so you can see the whole effect of these beautiful natural pools. Hiking through the jungle covered in war paint and a bikini is one thing I never imagined I would do but there I was, living the dream!

It’s a muddy hike up and very steep but once you’re up there it’s really quite breathtaking. Once you’re down you can pack away anything you don’t want to get lost in the lockers provided and can finally jump into the pools!

Semuc Champey consists of a natural 300 metre long limestone bridge, under which passes the Cahabón River. Atop the bridge is a series of stepped, turquoise pools that are perfect for exploring. My guide took us to some of the more impressive parts of the pools including showing us where we could safely jump from and the hidden mini caves including one that you needed to swim underwater to get to.

Semuc Champey is really beautiful and my photos don’t do the pools any justice. If you’re in Guatemala I really hope you don’t miss this trip.

Where to stay

I stayed at Zephyr Lodge. Zephyr is a great place to stay in Lanquin but does have its downsides. If you have the budget, their private rooms are great and include your own balcony overlooking the jungle. The dorms are hit and miss. Comfortable beds but the dorms located near the bar are noisy at night until the party dies down. The shared showers have their own individual view of the jungle which is kind of cool as do some of the toilets. Everything is very clean and well maintained.

The infinity pool is really the attraction here. The pool has a stunning backdrop and a swim up bar. There’s a large sun deck for perfect days relaxing by the pool with a strong drink as well as a hot tub with very restrictive opening hours. Overall I recommend Zephyr Lodge. It’s a good place to stay for a couple of days, you can relax or party and have a good place to rest your head after a long day at Semuc Champey.

You could consider staying at a hotel or hostel close to Semuc Champey. There are a few that sounded really nice and it means you can visit Semuc Champey more than once or for longer than we did on the tour. One friend recommended Utopia.

Check out TripAdvisor for some more options.

Never stayed in a hostel before? Read my posts on what to expect and your hostel packing essentials. 

Other points

• A good option is to use this as a stop over point between Tikal and Antigua.

• Most travel agencies and hostels offer a shared shuttle service to Lanquin from Flores, Antigua or Lake Atitlan. Once you’re here an onward shuttle is just as easy to find. From memory, shuttles were a bit more expensive at Zephyr so if you’re feeling up to it you could walk into town and book something from another hostel or agency.

• You don’t necessarily need a guide to just visit Semuc Champey. You can arrange a ride in town or try to hitch along the main road. Entry fee to the site is approx USD $6.

• Stay safe by sticking to groups, not venturing off the path too far and be mindful of where your putting your feet and head in the caves.

• You can pre-book a local guide for your Semuc Champey tour through Get Your Guide.

What do you think? Are Semuc Champey and the Kam'Ba caves worth the trip? Let me know in the comments below!

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Mazunte - A Pacific Paradise

Here’s a tale about one of my favourite places in the world. I intended to visit for a couple of days just to de-stress and get some sun after the chilly nights of San Cristobal but ended up staying for a whole week. I could have stayed much longer had I not already committed to volunteering in Oaxaca City.

I took a night bus to San Pedro Pochutla and then a colectivo to Mazunte. A colectivo can really be anything, often a minivan or taxi but in this case, it was the back of a pickup truck. As more and more people piled in along the way, I was eventually squished next to two lovely older men and got to find out about what they did in Mazunte and they loved telling me about their families.

As we were nearing the coast and I could start to smell the sea air, we got stopped by a road block. The police were checking licences and it turned out our driver deigned not to carry one that day. We sat in the back of the truck for about five minutes as the passengers continued to make jokes and were in general good spirits even though we were about to be stuck a 20 minute walk from our destination.

Everyone eventually realised the police were not going to let us continue so we all hopped out and made our way down the hill to Mazunte. By this time it was seven in the morning and not much was happening. I heard this could be a bit of a hippy town and witnessed a few early morning locals going about their business but it was quiet otherwise.

Upon my first sighting of the beach I knew this was the place for me. I settled into my new hostel, Posada Del Arquitecto, which was right on the beach and started my new life in Mazunte.

There is really not much to do in Mazunte but everyday my friends and I would find ourselves declaring, “Another perfect day in Mazunte!” The weather is lovely, the people are relaxed and if you want to spend some time doing absolutely nothing surrounded by natural beauty then this is the place to be!

Eating and drinking

There are some genuinely great places to eat including a spectacular wood fired pizza place run by a real Italian, a fish and chip shop, a falafel place, an Italian gelato stand and a juice bar where you can get a litre of juice for 35 pesos! Due to the large expat community you will really be surprised by the variety and quality of food available.

Cafes and restaurants seem to open whenever they want to so you can't plan anything. It's like a nice surprise as you walk through town and find that your favourite places are open. The main street always seem new to me because of this phenomenon; there's always a different combination of stores opened on any given day.

You can also eat your way around the world just by laying on the beach as food vendors bring around a variety of treats for you to snack on. My personal favourites were the sushi lady, the pizza lady and the donut guy.

Most nights there's usually a movie night in one of the hostels. The organisers post a flyer up everyday with details of that night’s movie and location. Depending on the hostel they’ll offer some drink specials and even some dinner options. While I was there, they played a variety of movies from recent blockbusters (like The Revenant) and more classical movies from the 1920’s.

There's not much party life here so you could easily find yourself in bed by 11 so you can get a full night's sleep before you wake up for the sunrise or morning yoga.

If you do want to party, you can walk the streets and there’s usually a gathering of people outside the juice bar, where they offer 2 large mojitos for 100 pesos or the Mezcaleria is open Friday and Saturday nights with live music late into the evening along with free mezcal tasting.

Chasing the sunset

You can watch the sunrise right from the beach in Mazunte but need to walk to another beach to see the sunset. Every afternoon about 4:30 pm locals and foreigners alike start congregating on the beach to see the evening in. Those who are up to a walk start heading to the hill to do the sunset hike.

You start by walking through some local forest while gradually climbing up to a point looking back down to the Mazunte beach. There’s usually a lovely Portuguese lady selling some delicious chocolate truffles and other treats and you could stay here and witness the sunset if you’re not up for anymore walking (or you ate too many chocolate truffles!).

After hanging out here for while, you climb down to an almost deserted little beach where you can sit and stare as the sun sets seemingly right in front of you. Take a dip in the orange waters and fully immerse yourself in this spectacular time of the day.

After watching the sun set for a bit on this beach, everyone then heads up to the furthest point, Punta Cometa. You walk through some more forest, pass some spectacular rock formations and then come upon the point which takes my breath away every time. 

The sunset is different every day and since you’re now on Mexican time and you take things as slow as possible then you’re always in a hurry to catch that last bit of sunset as you head toward the point, making it even more special.

From here, it’s all about sitting and staring in awe at the sunset and the otherworldly atmosphere of the beach below. There are huge rocks with some real personality and it almost reminds me of landscapes you encounter when traveling through Salar de Uyuni and South East Bolivia.

Once the sun sets, you still have another hour or so of dramatic orangey-coral landscapes to soak up so you can stay on the point or climb down to the beach below. Once there you can take another swim or head to the small bar located right on the beach for a very strong cocktail or some nibbles.

A Pacific Paradise

Of all the beaches I’ve been to on the Pacific coast this is definitely my favourite. During the day there are huge pelicans diving for fish and beautiful hummingbirds flitting around. Everyone seems to respect the peace and there is rarely any loud music blaring, at the most you might hear the strains of a guitar or drumming.

In Mazunte you can do yoga every morning for as little as 50 pesos. You can sleep in a swinging bed looking out into the coast for 90 pesos. You can eat like you’re in Europe or indulge in local Mexican fare. You can do nothing at all and still end the day with a contented sigh and a stupid grin on your face because you’re just so happy to be there. 

Travel Guide to Quirigua, Guatemala

The ruins at Quirigua are smaller than some of the better known ruins in the region, like Copan in Honduras and Tikal in Guatemala but still worth at least a couple of hours as stop over if you’re heading between the Rio Dulce/ Livingston area and Antigua or Guatemala City.

I enjoyed taking my time to walk through the site and explore on my own. Also if you’re lucky you might get to witness a traditional ceremony taking place.

There is a small gift shop on site as well as a shop for drinks and snacks. Located near the entrance is a museum which you shouldn’t forget to visit.

A TRADITIONAL CEREMONY AT QUIRIGUA RUINS

What to wear

Depending on the weather, I would strongly suggest wearing your hiking boots/sneakers or shoes you don’t mind getting dirty. There wasn’t a lot of rain at the time of my visit but the grounds were still inundated with mud. You should be fine if you stick to the gravel path but where’s the fun in that! 

Also remember:

• insect repellant
• sun screen
• hat
• long sleeve shirt and pants

How to get here

You can stop here on your way to or from the Rio Dulce/Livingston area. You should be able to buy a bus ticket and advise them that you want to get off at Las Ruinas de Quirigua.

Note: If you’re planning to stay in town, request to get off at PASARELA de QUIRIGUA. It’s just a little bit further down the road from the ruins stop but it saves you having to walk until you find a tuk tuk.

Traditional Japanese meal at posada de quirigua in the smallest town of quirigua, guatemala

Where to stay

Besides the ruins there is really not much to do in town but if you’d like to take a night to recharge or take a break from bus trips, then I highly recommend staying at Posada de Quirigua. Check out their excellent reviews on Trip Advisor.

The Posada is run by the lovely, Japanese-born Masaki and you can tell instantly by the detailing of the posada that she has put a lot of herself into the rooms and the surrounding gardens.

The room comes with a delicious breakfast where you choose from a typical Guatemalan meal or if you've had enough local cuisine, you can try something new with a Japanese breakfast. Masaki also offers dinner for a reasonable cost and I can attest that every meal I had at Posada de Quirigua was delicious and creative. It was a real treat staying in a Japanese style posada and sampling Japanese fare while travelling through Central America.

This post is part of my Top 30 in Central America and Mexico. You can also check out some more of my favourite sites and activities in Guatemala here.