is located only 6 kilometers from Chichen Itza, via federal highway
180 in the State of Yucatan Mexico.
Cave should be visited for the beauty of its natural stone formations
and for its archaeological importance as a ceremonial site for the
Maya. A light and sound show that relates its history can be seen
into the cave.
first man of modern times to see the treasure of Balankanche was
a tour guide from Chichen Itza. In 1959, while exploring the cave,
Gomez discovered a passageway leading deep into the caverns. It
took him two hours to follow out the path that eventually brought
him face to face with the treasures left by the ancient Maya 800
E. Wyllys Andrews, leader of the National Geographic Society Expedition
working nearby, was immediately summoned to inspect the discovery.
Arriving into the cave, he was astonished when he saw with the beam
of his headlamp hundreds of glittering stalactites surrounding a
huge stalagmite (resembling a ceiba tree) which stretched from floor
to ceiling in the center of the enormous vault. Carefully placed
around the base of this unusual geological formation, said to be
the "sacred tree inside the earth", were a great variety
of ceremonial objects, offering to the rain god Tlaloc and left
undisturbed through centuries of darkness.
after its rediscovery, the cave of Balankanche was opened to the
public, who can now admire the artifacts exhibited in the exact
places in which they were found.