Che Chem Ha |
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| General Information Getting There The Place The Cave Artifacts |
General Information
This was one of my personal favorites for your trip. We went by ourselves and had William as our own private guide in the cave. You can not go into the cave without a guide so they can protect the artifacts and the cave itself.
Two tours a day are at 9:00 am and 1:00 pm. We kind of think there is not a phone and hotels radio in a group, but William who lives there said sometimes people just show up. That is OK, but to get lunch you have to give them notice in the morning. If you show up for the 1 pm tour, you might not get a meal.
The hike in is up hill. If you are a hiker, it is not strenuous. If you never exercise or hike, it is kind of steep.
Getting There
Take the Western Highway towards Guatemala. Shortly after Xunantunich, there is a left turn with a sign pointing to Che Chem Ha. The road becomes a bit rugged and slow, but eventually (about 7 miles) you will get to a sign on the left pointing the turn in to their bed and breakfast and the caves.
The Place
What a nice little paradise. The place remains primitive true to spirit with towering trees alongside a cascading waterfall leading to a cliff with astounding views of nature. You don't hear the traffic, you don't see power lines everywhere, and the jungle is not hacked up for developments. You can stay here overnight, though we did not do so ourselves, we would consider so on a future trip.
We met some people who had roomed there, who mentioned you would get cold showers if you stayed, but we found that we only got cold showers at our air conditioned hotel. We did not see the rooms or the area where one would stay, but The meals cooked here are fabulous beyond words. Just for the food, it would be worth the night's stay.
In the area, there is a lot of caving as well as hiking and horseback riding. The true outdoors.
The Cave
The cave is uphill from the residence, and makes for a good hike. The cave itself is a dry cave - at least relative to other caves we visited. The clay floor is a bit gummy, but there is no need to wade in water, puddles, or to swim. The walk in the cave is easy. There are ladders in the cave that you can stand on to take photos of the artifacts on shelves or to get closer to bats.
At one point, there is an option to take the easy way back or to do a bit of scrambling. The scrambling is not very technical and it allows you to see more of the cave on the return trip. In one of the rooms, the location of the monolith surrounded by a circle of stones, there is a small hole you can crawl though. Actually you need to lie on your stomach and slither through. Somewhere in there you turn right and head up and end up on a small shelf in the same room you started in. it was pretty neat.
Artifacts
The cave is loaded with artifacts. The family who lives there keeps the entrance under lock and key to help preserve and protect the artifacts where they have laid for over a thousand years. Along the side of the passageways lie shards of broken pots. This is not due to vandalism, but were broken by the Mayans during ceremony. On shelves everywhere lie pots in cracked, broken, or whole form.
Ladders are provided to climb for a closer look in several areas, but for the less agile, there is still a room to enjoy the pots up close on the same floor you walk. Some of the treasures included a bird painted in black on a red shard and a little man (or monkey) pressed from the inside out on the side of a pot. If we understand correctly, the number found with that design can be counted on one hand. Another lies in Tunichil Muknal.
Though this trip only takes half a day, it seems like you are in the cave for hours, yet it is over so quickly. Che Chem Ha is a treasure for anyone who is able to make the 40 minute hike up the hill. we highly recommend it!
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Last updated: March 23, 2004