Sak-Aktun is a unique natural phenomenon, the most famous landmark of Mexico. This name belongs to two natural objects at once: a huge cave and a river flowing in it - the longest underground channel in the world.
The mysterious cave is hardly explored
In translation "Sak-Aktun" means "white cave". It is the second longest terrestrial cave system, as it stretches for more than three hundred kilometers. In fact, this is a suite of caves connected by corridors. Sak-Aktun is located in the north of the Yucatan Peninsula. Its study began only in 1987, since then less than 1% of the cave has been explored! One can only guess how many interesting and certainly tasminous things are still hidden in it!..
Sak-Aktun is over 65 million years old. One of the versions of its origin is that a large meteorite once fell on our planet. A huge crater formed at the place of its fall, and many cracks scattered underground from it in all directions. Over time, rainwater filled both the crater itself and these numerous cracks, thus forming a many kilometers underground channel.
The Maya Indians knew about the existence of the mysterious underground river and, it should be noted, they treated it with reverence and awe. This people believed that underground rivers lead to Xibalba - as the Maya called the underworld.
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Legend of the Sak-Aktun cave
There is a legend that it was the descendant of these ancient Indians who managed to discover the Sak-Aktun River. One evening, a man named Manu, along with his comrades, was returning from a hunt from the jungle and left behind. His disappearance was noticed only when the hunters returned to the village, and although dusk was already approaching, people rushed to search. Not finding Manu, they decided that he was dead.
In fact, the man fell into a densely overgrown crevice of the cave and lost consciousness, and when he woke up, he decided that he had died. There was silence and ominous darkness everywhere. Manu believed that the kingdom of the dead lay ahead of him. When the sounds of dripping water were heard in the silence, the man strengthened his suspicions and swam through the waters of the underground river. He moved in complete darkness, constantly bumping into giant stalactites …
After several days of such a voyage, Manu began to suffer from hallucinations: he heard voices everywhere and dreamed of shadows. The man decided that he approached the world of the dead, and then suddenly he saw the light. Manu swam on him - and emerged among the dense jungle!..
Returning to his native village, he told his fellow villagers about his extraordinary adventure, and then led them to the place where he so happily got out into the light. Illuminating their way with torches, people descended into the cave and froze in admiration from the beauty they saw. Here the Indians learned about the incomparable Sak-Aktun. Before the discovery of its civilized worlds there were still centuries …
Magnificent and mysterious Sak-Aktun
The underground channel flows through almost all the halls of Sak-Aktun, only a little less than six kilometers of the cave turned out to be "dry". Without exception, all the galleries are a stunning sight: a high vault, picturesque stalactites and transparent, like a crystal, water …
This cave is by no means lifeless: the river is inhabited by piranhas, catfish, blind tetras, and in the above-water world there are goliath tarantulas, the largest spiders on earth. Under normal conditions, these giants feed on frogs, toads, lizards, mice, small birds and even small snakes. What they feed on in the cave, no one still knows. Perhaps they switched to the "fish menu", or some other creatures live underground, which serve as food for the goliaths. Bats also live in the cave, but it is difficult to assume that tarantulas are able to cope with such a large prey, which can also fly.
Sak-Aktun attracts many tourists from all over the world. To find themselves in a cave, they must first overcome the road through the jungle, and then descend into the mysterious depths along a narrow fifteen-meter staircase. But the picture that opens up to the eyes of people is worth any tiring journey!
However, here you can not only admire the beauty of the underworld, but also go snorkeling and get acquainted with the underwater landscapes, which are beautiful in their own way. By the way, stalagmite and stalactite rocks, and other geological formations come across on the way of swimmers.
It is curious that after visiting Sak-Aktun, tourists talk about their unusual feelings: people seem to be reviving to life, becoming spiritually cleaner. Do you want to experience similar feelings? Visit the White Cave and accept the generous gifts that nature has prepared for you …