Kinda the Same, but With Swimming!
Words by Dalene Heck / Photography by Pete Heck
We’ve kinda seen this before.
Large pools stacked and feeding into those below via small cascades broken through barriers of vegetation.
Crystal clear water, large fish gliding fairly undisturbed.
Replace forest with tropical jungle, and have a single-directional formation versus a veritable maze, but overall, the similarities between Semuc Champey and Plitvice Lakes are Croatia are significant.
Semuc Champey is more open to interactivity with the small amount of tourists that visit the area. The waterfall below reaches into caves underground, which are available to be toured by candlelight. Caves = bats = Dalene not interested.
We just enjoyed the view above ground instead.
The best part (and one big advantage that Semuc Champey has over Plitvice), is that we could swim in it!
And after the sweaty climb up to the look-out point, we took full advantage.
Holy moly – that place looks amazing! Great advantage that you can swim in this as opposed to Croatia too! 🙂
Yup, that water felt pretty damn good after the hike up the hill!
Ahhh I wanted to swim in the Plitvice lakes so badly! I did trip and fall, but I don’t think they would have taken that as an excuse. Great pics!
All I could think about the whole time we were at Plitvice was wanting to kayak in the bigger lakes! (It was cold, so we didn’t think much of swimming then). 🙂
The color of the water is breathtaking!
hi. friends nice to see you having good time,fantastic views
Hello Mustafa! Nice to hear from you! We’ll be there visit you very soon! 🙂
Pretty! And you’re right – it DOES look like Plitvice! In fact, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference in some of these photos!
The similarities are quite strong! And I guess there is a similar place in Thailand too. We’ll have to hit that up!
Love that you can swim there! We are heading to Croatia this spring so plan to visit Plitvice too.
Plitvice is a must-see in my opinion! Too bad it’s not swimmable though. 🙂
Wow, how beautiful is that! And in Croatia? Must be a place I’m headed sometime soon, then:)
Croatia has so much beauty! If you haven’t been yet, then you must get there! 🙂
Isn’t the lookout view over Semuc incredible?
In the main swimming area, there are actually little mini-caves under the overhangs that you can get to if you swim underwater a bit.
A bit claustrophobic, but fun too.
The view was stunning! Worth all the sweatiness to get there. 🙂
Yeah, I ain’t good with claustrophobia either. I’m quite okay with staying above ground.
I would like to pack a picnic and spend all day in those pools. Look great and much better than a concrete swimming pool!
MUCH better indeed! Minus the bitey-bugs, it is a pretty perfect place to have a picnic. 🙂
Turn me loose in those caves. Sounds like a great place, waterfalls and all !
I kinda sorta did other caves in Belize (and told the tour guide to shut up if he saw bats. :)) These ones would have been too scary for me!
Looks gorgeous! And I would’ve skipped the caves too. I’m not a fan of the small, cramped spaces like that.
Yup, I think we’ve had this discussion before – ha! 🙂
I want to dive into the screen! What a color that water is…
It was AHMAZING. Oh, and the water had all those little fish that eat the dead skin off your feet too! Although I was too chicken to let them do that to me.
Truly beautiful. Umm where are they? Maybe I am skimming the text too fast, but I can’t figure out what country these falls are in. I assume Guatemala, but is that right?
Yup! In the middle of Guatemala. Not such a popular place yet (not sure why) and it is a little hard to get to – but SO worth it.
So cool!!
I have always wanted to go to the Plitvice Lakes, and Semuc Champey is now also going on my list. Unlike you, I would probably explore those caves though! Haha
Amazing photos, that place is full of so much natural beauty. I can only see tourist numbers increasing now.