Semuc Champey, Natural limestone pools in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala
Semuc Champey is a natural limestone formation in the Alta Verapaz Department of Guatemala stretching roughly 300 meters across the Cahabón River. A sequence of tiered pools with turquoise and green water forms on its surface while the river flows through a tunnel beneath.
The Q'eqchi' Maya knew this site for centuries before outsiders documented it in the 1950s. The Guatemalan government declared the area a protected natural monument through Decree 025 in 2005 to safeguard the formation from damage.
The Q'eqchi' name means where the river hides under the stones and reflects centuries of Maya knowledge about this formation. Today visitors can see how surrounding villages maintain their connection to the rainforest and use medicinal plants from the surrounding slopes.
The road to the entrance follows a winding gravel track that is often rough and most visitors hire a local driver from the town of Lanquín. A steep lookout trail offers an overview of the pools and requires roughly 45 minutes of climbing through jungle terrain.
The water in the pools does not come from the main river but from smaller streams that flow down the slopes and collect on the limestone surface. The Cahabón itself is audible beneath the bridge and reemerges roughly 400 meters downstream where the water bursts foaming from the rock.
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