Located a short drive from the Puerta Calakmul hotel, the Calakmul Bat Cave is home to some 4 million bats, comprising 8 different species of both insectivores and frugivores.
Also known as the Zotz Cave or the Volcán de los Murciélagos, it’s easy enough to visit the site with your own vehicle and, as this incredible natural spectacle only takes place shortly before dusk, when the bats exit the cave en-masse, it can easily be combined with a morning visit to the great, ruined Mayan city of Calakmul which is approximately an hour’s drive from the hotel.
The cave is located just off between KM marker posts 106 & 107 on the main east – west highway and has a small, paid-for car park. From here, a guide (again, paid for) will take anyone waiting to a viewing point near the cave, a short walk from the car park.
As this is a frenetic but short-lived spectacle, and bats don’t know what the time is, it’s best to arrive in plenty of time.
If you would rather visit the Calakmul Bat Cave with a guide, this is best arranged locally through the hotel, ideally as soon as you arrive the day before (this is not something we can pre-book unfortunately).
Calakmul is a long way from anywhere and, as a result, the vast majority of clients stay for 2 nights, arriving in the afternoon of Day 1, spending Day 2 visiting the ruins and then Calakmul Cave, before continuing on the next morning.
For ideas and inspiration for holidays that include a visit to Calakmul, please check out our Itineraries page and, in particular, our 14 night loop of the Yucatan Peninsula self-drive holiday.
