This park was beautiful and the caves were cool. If you miss this attraction, it won’t be the end of your trip. Yet, if you are able to make it, it is worth your while. Many of the tours to Semuc Champey include a tour of the Lanquin Caves, which I did not visit because I did not do a tour.
The entrance to the park was Q15. The park had several little huts with hammocks and tables. You could see and hear the waterfall from the caves nearby. It was very peaceful except for the bee 🐝 that would not leave me alone before the tour and the guy using a weedwacker afterwards. I bet the employees got a good laugh at some tall, white girl running around in circles trying to avoid the bee...multiple times. I obviously could not communicate with them I was avoiding a bee (which I now know in Spanish is la abeja). I would suggest spending extra time before and/or after your tour of the caves to relax and bring a picnic, but bring some bug spray.
The cave tour was an additional Q30. The tour group could not break Q100 for some of the other couples in the tour group. I recommend bringing appropriate amount of Q’s. The tour provided rain boots and a helmet. The helmet was much needed since I hit my head several times during the tour. To start the tour, we walked up several stairs to the cave entrance. Once we entered, I was glad to be in first place because I could easily keep up with the guide. While we were waiting for the others, he would shine his flashlight in the cave. You could see all the water gushing down the caves as well as the limestone hanging from the ceiling. It was so cool! The only thing that would have made it cooler would have been if I had even the slightest inkling of what the tour guide was saying (it was all in Spanish). Yet, it was still cool because this was the first cave I have been ever in. I bet it is one of the only places in Guatemala you can see your breath! It was really trippy to just stare into the darkness with only the light from your helmet. You could see the precipitation hanging in the air which gave it somewhat of an eerie feel.
How to get there from Coban:
Take a taxi to the bus stop (recommended by my hotel)
Take the bus to Chamelco (Q3-2)
Walk to the bus stop for Reyes Marcos
Take the bus to Reyes Marcos (last stop - big sign as well) (Q2-3)
Walk up the path all the way to the gate
I had to ask the money collector from the bus to Chamelco how to get to the Reyes Marcos bus. He was nice enough to walk me there. There are plenty of buses running to these locations during the day. Keep your ears open as the drivers and money collectors will be yelling “Coban! Coban!” The locals are also really friendly and you can always ask them where the bus is.
How to get back:
Same as above. I didn’t go to the same bus stop in Chamelco, yet I found another bus yelling “Coban!”
I also was able to walk back to my hotel vs. taking a taxi
I immediately regretted not bringing my extra hats and shirts to give to people. The bus driver was wearing a John Deere hat and boy do I have plenty of John Deer hats to spare. I only had Q2 vs the Q3. He said it was okay if I danced with him instead ;) I never had to dance and my Q2 was fine! Ha! What a deal!
