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“Close your eyes. You hear nothing but silence and the faint sound of trickling water in the background. Imagine you are 80 feet below ground with your eyes open in the pitch black. You are one with Mother Earth. You are somewhere along an 800 meter stretch of a 14 kilometer underground river that originates in the interior of the peninsula and empties into the sea. The lights come back on. Look up and see thousands of jagged-edged stalactites pointing towards your head like the tips of poison Mayan arrows. It looks like you are either on another planet or on the set of a blockbuster Hollywood movie”.

This is a direct quote from the cache page for The Secret River, and they’re not kidding about the cinematic environment. The EarthCache could easily be featured in the next Indiana Jones movie. At 215.2 kilometers, the Secret River or “Sistema Sac Actun” (White Cave System) is the longest running underwater cave in the world. Its unique geological history make it a destination for geocachers and geologists alike.

EarthCaches provide an opportunity to learn a geological lesson and visit awe-inspiring geological locations. Visitors can see how our planet has been shaped by geological processes, how we manage its resources and how scientists gather evidence. Typically, to log an EarthCache, you will have to provide answers to questions by observing the geological location.

The geocacher who visits The Secret River will leave with a solid understanding of how the cave and river were formed and how to differentiate between Stalactites, Stalagmites, Columns, Helictites. 

Logs from a few recent geocachers to visit the caves:  

“What a hidden gem. If you are anywhere near this area, you should take this tour and log this Earthcache. We happened upon it almost by chance. We were just looking for something local to do for the afternoon. We were in the area for 10 days and it was one of the best things we did. Wondering along with a guide for a couple of hours in an underground system of caves, along a river was simply amazing. This is not my first dave tour, I’ve done several in the US. But this was my first underground river cave tour.

So glad we happened upon this earthcache, and this tour.
Thanks Dragonfly E&N for creating and maintaining it, favorite point for sure! – JeeperDad

“One of my favorite caches on this trip. After spending a few days in warm swimming pools at the resort we were all happy to have this refreshing river to jump into. Our tour guide was really good and I enjoyed the history along with some local stories. Glad to share this experience with Dix1, 800rmk, tumbler77, the wee-ones and some friends. Thanks for sharing this secret river with us. Deserves a favorite.” – del2u

The unique structure and vastness of the cave/river is what draws tourists to this location from around the world. The geological lessons, highly informative cache page, and the required logging tasks are what draw in geocachers from around the world. One might say the bat’s out of the bag for GC2NTRK – The Secret River.