The Cueva del Mamut, or Ttzi’kab’b’e, is a small fossil site and paleontological museum in Aldea Chivacabé near the city of Huehuetenango; the Ministry of Culture’s SIC directory lists entry at Q10 for nationals and Q50 for foreigners, open every day from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Those are undated directory figures, checked 9 November 2026. To get there, Deguate says to leave the Ruta Centroamericana (CA-1) at kilometre 263 and follow an unpaved road for 600 metres, about 20 to 30 minutes from Huehuetenango city.
In short: Q50 for foreign visitors on the SIC listing (an older Deguate page from 2015 said free). Daily 8:00-16:30 for the cave, 8:00-16:00 on the SIC’s museum entry. Mastodon, giant armadillo and peccary remains, stone tools, and the original excavation pit. About 20-30 minutes from Huehuetenango city, per Deguate.
Quick summary
| Item | Detail | Who publishes it (date read) |
|---|---|---|
| Names | La Cueva del Mamut Ttzi’kab’b’e; Museo Paleontológico Ttzi’kab’b’e o Chivacabé; Parque Prehistórico de cazadores recolectores | SIC directory (two listings, undated, read 9 Nov 2026); Deguate |
| Where | Aldea Chivacabé, 600 m from km 263 of the Ruta Centroamericana | Deguate (updated Jul 2015); Aprende Guatemala (km 263) |
| Municipality | Huehuetenango (SIC cave listing, Deguate) or Malacatancito (SIC museum listing) | SIC directory; Deguate |
| Access road | Unpaved | Deguate |
| From Huehuetenango city | About 20-30 minutes | Deguate |
| Hours | Monday to Sunday, 8:00-16:30 | SIC cave listing |
| Hours (museum listing) | Monday to Sunday, 8:00-16:00 | SIC museum listing |
| Entry | Nationals Q10.00, foreigners Q50.00 | SIC cave listing |
| Entry (older figure) | Free for cave and museum | Deguate (updated Jul 2015) |
| Museum opened | 1997 | SIC museum listing; Aprende Guatemala |
Getting there
Deguate’s directions are short: the site is in Aldea Chivacabé, 600 metres from kilometre 263 of the Ruta Centroamericana, reached by a dirt access road, and the trip from the departmental capital takes about 20 to 30 minutes. Deguate and Aprende Guatemala both describe it as 11 kilometres in the direction of La Mesilla. The SIC museum listing gives the address as Km. 263, Malacatancito.
By bus: neither the SIC listings, Deguate nor Aprende Guatemala name a bus route or stop for Chivacabé.
Deguate rates the site as easy to reach and close to Huehuetenango city, and recommends walking shoes, enough water and sunscreen. Its 2015 page says visitors are welcome to bring lunch or camp in the surroundings; ask on arrival before camping.
The fee: why the figures differ
The SIC directory’s cave listing gives Q10.00 for nationals and Q50.00 for foreigners; the SIC entry carries no date. Deguate’s page, last updated in July 2015, said entry to both the cave and the museum was completely free. Read together, budget the Q50 and treat a free entry as a pleasant surprise rather than a plan.
From a well to a museum
The SIC museum listing tells the story. In 1976, the owners of the land decided to dig an artisanal well for water and found several fossil remains of what was thought to be a mammoth; they reported the find to local authorities. A year later the first scientific investigations and excavations were carried out, led by a Canadian university the listing names as the Universidad Simón Frazer, and they dated the fossilised bones to about 30,000 years ago. The museum opened in 1997, and in 2005 the Ministry of Culture and Sports gave it new standing as a prehistoric park of hunter-gatherers (the listing’s word is revalorizado).
Deguate’s page (last updated July 2015) names the finca owner who made the discovery as Octavio Alvarado and says visitors may get the chance to talk with him about the work done at the site and plans for its future.
What you see
The fossils. The SIC cave listing describes remains of a variety of prehistoric fauna, including fragments of bone from peccary, mastodon and giant armadillo. The museum listing adds spear points, stone pieces and fossils, mostly of mastodons.
The mammoth that was a mastodon. Deguate says studies showed the skeleton belongs to a mastodon that lived more than 11,000 years ago in the Pleistocene, and lists genera found at the site including Glyptotherium, Cuvieronius, Equus and Odocoileus.
The stone tools. Deguate reports a Clovis-type point dated to around 10,000 BC, which suggests the place served as a temporary camp for hunters.
The excavation. Deguate describes an excavation pit some 3 metres deep and 6 to 8 metres across, made by paleontologists, where pieces can be seen in the positions in which they were found.
The SIC’s 30,000-year date for the fossils and Deguate’s 11,000-plus years for the mastodon come from different sources, and neither reconciles them with the other.
Cheese on the way out
Deguate adds a local detail: Aldea Chivacabé is known for producing and selling cheese, with most sales on Wednesdays and Sundays.
More around Huehuetenango
- Things to do in Huehuetenango, fees and day trips from the city.
- Zaculeu ruins, the archaeological park near the city.
- Huehuetenango city and Malacatancito, the two municipalities the listings name.
- Huehuetenango department.
Sources
- Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, Sistema de Información Cultural (SIC), listing La Cueva del Mamut Ttzi’kab’b’e, undated, read 9 November 2026.
- Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, SIC, listing Museo Paleontológico Ttzi’kab’b’e o Chivacabé, undated, read 9 November 2026.
- Deguate, Cueva del Mamut, Huehuetenango, published December 2012, updated July 2015, read 9 November 2026. Travel site, secondary.
- Aprende Guatemala, Parque Prehistórico Ttzi’kab’b’e, Huehuetenango, published February 2017, updated November 2022, read 9 November 2026. Secondary.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the Cueva del Mamut near Huehuetenango and when is it open?
The Ministry of Culture’s SIC directory (undated, checked 9 November 2026) lists Q10.00 for nationals and Q50.00 for foreigners, open Monday to Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A second SIC listing for the site’s museum gives 8:00 to 16:00. Deguate’s older page (updated July 2015) said entry to both the cave and the museum was free, so the fee may have been introduced since; ask on arrival.
Where is the Cueva del Mamut and how do I get there?
In Aldea Chivacabé. Deguate says it is 600 metres off kilometre 263 of the Ruta Centroamericana (the CA-1) on an unpaved access road, a 20- to 30-minute trip from the city of Huehuetenango. Aprende Guatemala gives the same kilometre 263 and aldea.
Is the Cueva del Mamut in Huehuetenango or Malacatancito?
The Ministry of Culture’s own directory files it both ways: the cave listing under the municipality of Huehuetenango, and the museum listing, with the address Km. 263, under Malacatancito. Deguate places it in the municipality of Huehuetenango.
Is there really a mammoth at the Cueva del Mamut?
The name comes from the 1976 find, which was thought to be a mammoth. Deguate says later studies showed the remains belong to a mastodon, and the SIC listings name mastodon, giant armadillo and peccary among the species on display.
How old are the fossils at the Cueva del Mamut?
The SIC listings say research showed the fossils date to about 30,000 years ago. Deguate describes a mastodon that lived more than 11,000 years ago and a Clovis-type stone point dated to around 10,000 BC.
Who discovered the Cueva del Mamut?
Per the SIC museum listing, the landowners found fossil remains in 1976 while digging a well for water; Deguate names the finca owner as Octavio Alvarado. A year later, the SIC says, a Canadian university it names as Universidad Simón Frazer carried out the first scientific excavations.
