Semuc Champey
A spectacular natural beauty - bathe in clear turquoise pools at the very heart of the jungle.
Making the trip to Lanquín and Semuc Champey is a commitment. Located at least 5 hours from any other popular tourist destination, transport usually takes up to 10 hours. Therefore, you’re looking at a day’s worth of transport either side of visiting this area. I was on the fence whether the destination was worth 2 days out of my travel itinerary, and to be honest I would say it was. I’d suggest making sure to get the most out of your trip to Lanquín by booking nice accommodation and exploring more of the area, not just Semuc Champey.
Antigua to Lanquín
I made the trip to Semuc Champey from Antigua by shuttle transfer. There is no direct public transport from Antigua to Cobán (the nearest city to Lanquín) or Lanquín. In order to take public transport, you’d need to organise a shuttle from Antigua to Guatemala City and then from Guatemala City take the Monja Blanca bus to Cobán and then catch a collectivo in Cobán to Lanquín. (There is no public bus service between Antigua and Guatemala City. It is possible to take a chicken bus, otherwise most options will be shuttles to Guatemala City Airport or accommodation in Guatemala City).
The shuttle started its Antigua pickup at 8am. I was the last hostel on the list, so was picked up at 8:30am. We then drove to Guatemala City to pick up people from there. At this time of the day, the traffic was pretty bad, so getting into GC and picking up people there took about 3.5 hours. Only after this did we start towards Cobán, stopping by a couple places to pick up packages that were also being transported to Lanquín. We stopped at a rest station with a canteen and bathroom for a 30 minute break at around 12:30pm. We continued the rest of the way to Cobán and made another rest stop in Cobán for 20 minutes, this time at a large mall with plenty of amenities, including ATMs. We then made the final drive to Lanquín. Here the shuttle dropped us off opposite the main gas station where various other hostel shuttles were waiting to transport their guests. So we hopped from one van to another and made the short ride to Zephyr Lodge, where I was staying (more on that below).
Hostels are either based around the village of Lanquín, like Zephyr Lodge, or in the jungle closer to Semuc Champey. The benefit of staying in Lanquín is that you are closer to transport and the general services that come with staying near a town/village (ATM, shops, market). Staying in the jungle means that you are more in nature and closer to Semuc Champey (often walking distance). It does however mean that once you arrive in Lanquín you have another 40-minute journey standing in a van to get to your accommodation. But even if you don’t make that journey now, you will be making that journey to visit Semuc Champey later.
Semuc Champey
I was only in Lanquín for 2 nights. The first night was our arrival night, and we stayed up to participate in our hostel quiz night, making a team with the other people we had travelled with in the shuttle. The following day we visited Semuc Champey. The hostel offered their own tour to Semuc Champey (200Q) which involved a candlelit cave tour in the morning, followed by a visit to Semuc Champey after lunch. I was keen to make my own way to Semuc Champey without the tour because I wanted to get to the park in the early morning, before the crowds and before the afternoon rain (rainy season). I also wasn’t interested in touring the caves. I tried to get some information about how to make my own way to Semuc Champey from the hostel staff, but they either genuinely didn’t know or were adamant on upselling me their tour. Either way, they were disappointingly unhelpful and I figured it out myself. I aimed to walk either to the main village, or to the stop the shuttle had dropped us off, and find a collectivo there. Being 2 tourists, we didn’t have to walk far before a pickup truck pulled up, offering us a ride. They quoted us a price that was about 5Q p/p more than what we expected for a collectivo (15Q p/p), but I thought if they were offering to drive us now, that it wasn’t much of a mark-up. However, that didn’t happen. Instead, we ended up driving up and down the main road and the village for about 35 minutes trying to find more passengers. In the end, the driver had to transfer us to another collectivo (transferring our payment and pocketing the extra 10Q), which was very full. Finally, an hour after we had left the hostel, we were on our way. *Learning point: head straight to the village and catch a collectivo there. Since this is where the locals are based, collectivos are more likely to be full and ready to leave from here. The stop outside the village is mainly for tourists, and since most tourists will be taking a tour, it’s unlikely a collectivo will get full quickly here.*
It’s around a 30-40 minute drive from Lanquín to Semuc Champey. Collectivos are pickup trucks that you stand up in, which I found really fun, but may not be for everyone. If there is space, you can sometimes get a seat in the cabin of the truck. The road is a dirt track - very up and down, bumpy and windy - it really feels like a rollercoaster ride.
At the park entrance there are a couple stalls set up selling food, and other people selling snacks and souvenirs. There is no food on sale inside the park apart from the occasional person selling fresh fruit or drinks. So either bring your own food or plan to eat before entering because it’s not clear if you can re-enter after exiting.
For international visitors, entrance costs 50Q. The park is well signed and has a couple maps placed within the park, but no maps that you can take around with you. There is one central path that leads you to the main attraction and past toilets and changing rooms, and then a loop trail that stems off the main trail which will take you to the view point.
We arrived around 11am and were one of the first 20 visitors to sign in to the park. We headed straight to the pools and entered the lowest pool (the first pool you walk past). It was quiet here, and remained one of the least busy pools. The majority of visitors will make their way to the very top pool where the changing rooms, lockers, and towel hire are situated. The top pools are also shallower, although each pool will have deep sections and shallow sections. We spent about 90 minutes exploring the different pools, swimming around and taking pictures. We then headed along the viewpoint trail, which consists of a continuous incline up wooden and stone steps. You’ll notice from the map that the viewpoint is closer to one end of the trail than the other. I’d suggest taking the shorter route to the viewpoint and then returning back the way you came if you are short on time, or want to do less incline hiking. We got pretty hot from that hike, so jumped back into the water before heading out of the park. On our way out, a family of monkeys were passing through, and we were lucky enough to see adult and baby monkeys cross the canopy above us.
Collectivos are sat waiting outside the entrance of the park, and we were able to get on one and leave within 5 minutes, headed back to Lanquín village. This was a much more comfortable trip as we were only sharing the collectivo with one other family and I got to really enjoy the rollercoaster ride back into town. Once back in the main town, we headed to a local restaurant for lunch. It was situated overlooking the jungle valley and was just a nice way to take a step back from the busy tourist areas. From Lanquín village, it’s a short walk back to Zephyr Lodge. By the time we’d got back and showered, the hostel tour had returned, and we joined everyone for happy hour and to catch up on our days. .
The next morning I was headed back to Guatemala City. I woke up early and was rewarded with sunrise across the valley that Zephyr Lodge overlooks. We were in no rush to leave at a certain time, but soon found that the hostel is pretty dead during the day once the main tour activities leave in the morning. We made our way to the bus stop opposite the main gas stationjust at the entrance of town, where the shuttles dropped us off previously, and waited for a passing collectivo. We didn’t wait long before a van stopped by and picked us up. This actually happened to be shuttle transportation on its way to Flores, but would be passing through Cobán, and they charged us the same price as a collectivo. Most shuttle transportation stops in Cobán at the McDonald’s by the main mall, so we had to walk from here to the Monja Blanca bus station in the center of Cobán (15 minutes). Buses to Guatemala City run every hour, although some are express journeys (especial) and others make more stops (standard). Buses were kitted with blacked-out windows, air conditioning, reclining seats, foot rests, and TVs. It was so much more comfortable than the shuttle transport I took on the way in, and also a much quicker journey. We still stopped for a 25-minute comfort break, but having a single pick-up and drop-off point meant that our journey from Cobán to Guatemala City took under 4 hours. Our hostel in Guatemala City was a 20-minute walk from the Monja Blanca bus station - easy peasy.
Semuc Champey from viewpoint.
Stone and wooden steps along to the viewpoint.
The top pool - tends to be busier
The bottom pool - tends to be quieter
Semuc Champey park mapLanquín
There is more to do around Lanquín beyond visiting Semuc Champey.
Relax with a couple drinks in the sun and go tubing along the Rio Lanquín.
For a faster-pace river experience, try white-water rafting along Rio Cahabón.
The forests around Lanquín are full of cacao plantations, take a cacao tour with a local farmer.
Being in the heart of the jungle, there is ample opportunity for hikes. Download apps designed for trails such as Komoot, WikiLoc or Maps.Me to find some routes. A popular trail in the area is to Mirador La Vina.
Explore the cave networks:
Grutas Las Marias is a cave network located close to Semuc Champey and therefore is often included into tour itineraries. Known for its ‘cave by candlelight’ tours. You can enter alone or meet a tour guide there.
Candelaria Caves, located equidistant from Cobán and Lanquín, is a large network of dry and wet caves with sacred cultural significance to Mayan history.
Zephyr Lodge
Zephyr Lodge is self-coined as a ‘party hostel’, which I wasn’t really in the mood for, but I went with what my sister preferred. However, Zephyr hostel wasn’t all that wild. They have evening activities every night (quiz, karaoke, DJ) but they usually round up around midnight with a handful of stragglers staying up till sunrise on the pool deck. It’s not like some hostels where the music and chatter is still pumping through the walls up to the early morning hours - it’s easy to go to bed at 10pm here and not be disturbed by the night entertainment. The facilities were well-kept and comfortable. I really liked the outdoor bathroom design, which I always think makes things feel cleaner because they are more open and fresher. I found the dorm rooms comfortable, but there are different tiers of dorms. Some will have AC, some will only rely on fans, some have a nice view and big windows you can open, some do not. So you hear some people complain about being too hot or too humid in their dorm rooms, but it is the room you pay for.
However, I did have some qualms with this hostel, which I guess broadly covers my issues with ‘boutique hostels’ in Guatemala. Usually hostels, as well as providing affordable and sociable accommodation arrangements, also provide information to help travellers explore and get to know the local area. This typically includes things like city maps, information about public transport, hostel activities, and knowledgeable staff who are able to suggest activities or help you navigate the city. For me, this is what makes hostels special. You could come to a new city as a solo traveller with no ideas and find all the answers you need and more from your hostel. Many boutique hostels in Guatemala (you can spot them by their gorgeous interiors, lack of communal kitchen, and various ‘add-on’ extras) do not offer such amenities.
So, at Zephyr Lodge, staff were not knowledgeable or helpful with guests who tried to organise things outside the hostel. Two examples: I tried to ask for information to take public transport to Semuc Champey, rather than book their tour, which they claimed they were unable to help me with; I organised to take public transport back to Guatemala City, and they asked me to pay for the free transport between the hostel and the town (as advertised online and in hostel) because I didn’t book their shuttle service. This annoyed me. Fair enough if you want to promote and advertise your services, but I think it’s wrong to withhold information or penalise guests for not buying your services. This particularly stings because the business claims to be socially and ecologically responsible.
Full disclosure - this hostel was not my first or usual choice, so some of my negatives about this hostel will probably not be a negative for those this hostel appeals to. Some other things that I personally consider negatives for this hostel were the lack of local, or even Central American staff employed in front of house roles. This was mostly taken up by staff from the global west, many of whom didn’t speak Spanish. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the food, which could only be purchased from the hostel and was mainly subpar western dishes like pizza, pasta and burgers, with probably 2-3 local dishes. My thing with food is that - why make subpar dishes that you don’t have the climate, ingredients, or facilities for when you could be making delicious tasting local cuisine with what is locally available to you. Like trying to recreate French crêpes, Italian pizza, or Indian curry in the remote jungle of Guatemala is just not going to hit. But like I said at the beginning, these are all things you could discern from the hostel before booking, and it’s likely that if these are things that would bother you, then you wouldn’t have booked. It was just because I was following my sister that I ended up here.
Despite all that I’ve said, if you are looking for a beautiful, fun and sociable hostel, this is a good pick.
Zephyr Lodge Semuc Champey tour itinerary (200Q)Need to knows
There are very few cash machines available, and are often within shops, so have limited access times. Try to take out enough cash in Coban.
R’s take
A frequent stop for local and international tourism. I’d recommend exploring a little further than the national park itself to make the most out of your visit.
Trail to the viewpoint
View point of Semuc Champey
Trail to view point
The trail to the view point
The main pool next to the lockers, towel rentals and changing rooms
Zephyr Lodge Semuc Champey tour (200Q)
View from Zephyr Lodge
Dorm room in Zephyr Lodge hostel
Zephyr Lodge hostel's pool deck at night
Monja Blanca bus station in Coban
Streets of Coban
What is Semuc Champey and how was it formed?
Semuc Champey is a naturally formed limestone bridge that formed over the Cahabón river, creating a river cave. It isn’t entirely clear online how this national monument formed. But from what I’ve read, Semuc Champey was created over thousands of years as the Cahabón river slowly eroded its river bed until it opened into an underground cave. Over more time the force of the water was able to erode a path out of the cave which allowed the river path to continue. The limestone bridge is formed and filled by warm spring water from the surrounding mountainous land. As the mineral rich water ran over the land and into the Cahabón river, sort of like tricking waterfall at this point because the river had broken through into the underground cave, it deposited limestone on the edge. Over the years, limestone built up, creating a bridge of pools. This water is why the pools continue to grow deeper as the limestone continues to be deposited, and is why the pools are this beautiful clear turquoise compared to the brown muddy waters of Cahabón river.
To get to Semuc Champey you need to aim for Lanquín, the closest town to the park. If you are taking public transport and coming from the east (Rio Dulce, Puerto Barrios) you will need to pass through Rio Dulce. From Rio Dulce it’s a bus to El Estor, change for a bus to Panzos, and change again for a bus to Cahabón. Once in Cahabón you’ll be able to get a bus/collectivo to Lanquín. These buses do not run frequently, and most make their last journeys by midday, so plan accordingly. For every bus change, where the bus drops you off will be in sight of where the next bus will pick you up, just look for destination signs. If you are taking public transport and coming from the west (Panajachel, Antigua, El Pardeon) you will need to pass through Guatemala City. From Guatemala City catch a Monja Blanca bus to Cobán. From Cobán you’ll be able to catch a bus/collectivo to Lanquín. Of course, a much easier approach would be to book shuttle transfer, either through GuateGo or through your accommodation. They’ll be able to take you directly to Lanquín without having to navigate the public transport system.
How to get to Semuc Champey from other places in Guatemala?
Where should I stay for Semuc Champey?
For Semuc Champey you can either stay in the town of Lanquín, or closer to the park. It’s about 30-40 minutes drive between the two. There are plenty of accommodation options for all budgets in either location and really just depends on how close you want to be to the park entrance, and what style of accommodation you want. Accommodation close to the park will be more remote, with fewer facilities but more immersive in nature. Accommodation nearer the town will be closer to public facilities and transport, and is located on tarmac roads for those renting a car.
How can I visit Semuc Champey without a tour guide?
If you are coming from accommodation in Lanquín: head to the centre of Lanquín village, where the market sets up. At the top of the road of the main market there is a 4-way road junction (I will mark this on my Google Map) next to Restaurante Martinez and El Ferreteria El Pajarito. This is where the collectivos tend to congregate and fill-up for passengers to Semuc Champey. You can also try your luck waiting at the bus stop opposite the Exon gas service station at the entrance of town, but as you’ll read from my experience, going from the centre of town is much more reliable. The collectivo will drop you off at the park entrance, and collectivos will be waiting there to pick you up for your return. You can then enter the park and enjoy it at your own pace. To do any other activities, such as caving, tubing etc. you will need to book that activity separately, they are not available in the park.
If you are coming from accommodation near Semuc Champey: it is probably easiest to walk to the park entrance. It’s likely your accommodation will offer some form of transport, otherwise if you don’t want to walk, you can stand along the road and hail down a passing collectivo or tuk tuk.
What do I need to bring with me to Semuc Champey?
Semuc Champey is about 40 minutes drive from the main town. There is not a huge range of facilities in and around the park ,so it’s important to pack what you need before setting off. This is my suggestion:
Plenty of water. You can purchase water outside the park entrance from individuals selling drinks and snacks. However, once inside the park, your best bet at finding drinking water will be from locals situated at the top of mirador trail. The hike along this trail itself is steep and hot and will make you even more thirsty.
Snacks / packed lunch. Again you will be able to purchase some food outside the park entrance, but once inside, local sellers can only be found at the top of the mirador hike.
Swim things, including a towel and water shoes if you like. The jungle is hot, so you’ll want to jump right into the water. Towels are available to rent, but I’d suggest bringing your own. Water shoes can be helpful as the limestone is slippery, and the banks are made up of small rocks and mud. The water is super clear, so maybe googles could be fun too.
Cash. There is no ATM here, and everything is paid for with cash. Entrance fee can be paid by card.
A padlock for if you want to store your things in a locker.
You don’t need hiking shoes. The trail to the mirador is mostly steps. It is possible to do that in flip-flops if you want, just be aware that wet rocks can be slippery.
What facilities are available at Semuc Champey?
Once past the entrance gate and in the park grounds, there are changing rooms and toilet facilities in the park. There are no official places to purchase food or drink, but there will be some individuals selling snacks. They can be found along the viewpoint trail, you will not see them in the main areas of the park. You are however free to bring in your own food. At the opposite end of the park is where you will find lockers and towel hire. You will need to bring your own lock if using a locker. Outside the park grounds, sort of in the car park, there are more toilets and a covered seating area where food stands set up and serve hot food. This is where you can buy yourself a meal. There are also individuals selling the usual drinks, snacks and souvenirs.