Tata Duende Missing at the ATM Cave

The ancient Mayan culture believed that caves were the passageway to the gods. The elite class which controlled access to the caves prevented the lower class from entering the caves through stories of the Tata Duende, a supernatural creature that would disembowel those unworthy of entering the caves. The Tata Duende is said to have no thumbs and backward facing feet. Stories of the Tata Duende have been passed down over the generations. The folklore of the Tata Duende is now used to keep children from misbehaving.

We learn of the Tata Duende on our hike to the entrance of the ATM Cave.  My kids are undeterred by the haunting stories. We enter the cave by diving into a small pool and swim to a landing about 20 feet away.  Passage through the cave took us through varying depths of water with narrowing and expanding cavern widths.  There were some very tight spaces that could easily deter someone with claustrophobia.

Through the hike our guides Juan Carlos and Andy share mayan culture and history and point out artifacts and ancient carvings. We are given a glimpse of how the high priests used the surroundings to manufacture shadowy figures used in their indoctrination of others that were allowed entrance to the cave.  The apex of our hike found us in the cathedral where we carefully navigated around artifacts and human skeletal remains.  Cameras are no longer allowed due to the negligence of past visitors.  Not only is this a good way of protecting the history stored within for millennia, but I think that you can only truly capture the grandeur of the ATM by experiencing it yourself. You do not need to fear the Tata Duende.