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NATURAL ATTRACTIONS & MAYA SITES
Map of Belize: bordering Mexico and Guatemala as well as the Caribbean Sea pointing out the Districts, put on the site)
Corozal District: This is the most northern district of Belize offering an excellent mix of Mexican style and picturesque small fishing villages as well as a Spanish touch. With a population of 9000, Corozal is a prosperous farming town blessed with fertile land and a favorable climate for agriculture with sugarcane being the area’s leading crop.
Orangewalk District: With sugar cane being the number one business here, Orangewalk with its 10,000 inhabitants, is also home to Lamanai, one of Belize’s largest centers for the ancient Maya.
Belize District: Gateway to Belize where a colorful past blends with a progressive future. Belize City, the nation’s biggest city with 80,000 inhabitants was once the capital. Its Swing Bridge is the only working bridge of its type in the world combining Albert Street with Queen Street.
Cayo District: Home to the Mountain Pine Ridge and the mighty Mayan cities of Caracol and Xunantunich. The main population center of Cayo District exists of Santa Elena and San Ignacio. San Ignacio with a population of 8,000 is a prosperous farming and holiday center in the lovely, tropical Macal River valley.
Stann Creek District: Be surrounded by unspoiled land and sugary white beaches exploring the world’s first and only Jaguar reserve. Dangriga is the largest town in southern Belize with the population of 10,000. Popular diving and fishing spots off Glover’s Reef and Tobacco Caye are accessed from Dangriga.
Toledo District: The land of the unexplored Maya, both ancient and present, being the most culturally entrenched area of Belize. Here, the humidity is at its highest point as is the rainfall. The southernmost town of Belize is Punta Gorda with 3,000 inhabitants.
BELIZE DISTRICT
Altun Ha (Stone Water): Located thirty-one miles north of Belize City, near Rockstone Pond Village. It consists of two main plazas with 13 temples and residential structures. It was the major ceremonial and trading center and home to 8,000 to 10,000 inhabitants in the Classic Period (250-900 AD) linking the Caribbean with Central American inland Maya. The largest carved jade object of the Maya Sun God, Kinich Ahau, was discovered in the Temple of the Masonry Altars.
Belize Zoo & Tropical Education Center: Located at mile 30 on the Western Highway, this “natural zoo” is home to more than 125 species of native Belizean animals including many endangered species like the jaguar, tapir, black howler monkey as well as a variety of flora unlikely to be encountered in the wild. The zoo was begun in 1983 when a small group of Belizean animals, once used as movie stars for natural history films, were left without financial support for their maintenance. As result of this situation, their caretaker then changed her title to zoo director, and started a small zoo with the hope of enticing enough support in the country to keep the special animal collection thriving. A night visit is offered on request creating a terrific atmosphere of the nocturnal bush.
Caye Caulker: Once a sleepy fishing community, Caye Caulker (population 800) has experienced underwater guides that will take you out to numerous reef sites within minutes of each other. Trips are also possible to Lighthouse Reef, the Great Blue Hole and Hol Chan Marine Reserve.
Community Baboon Sanctuary: Situated in the village of Bermudian Landing - about 45 minutes North East from Belize City, you can visit the preserve for black howler monkeys (locally known as baboons) named for their loud, raspy howl which can carry over a mile. The Community Baboon Sanctuary was established in 1985 to protect one of the few healthy black howler monkey populations in Central America. They are vegetarian and spend most of the daylight hours cruising the treetops in groups of four to eight, led by a dominant male. A guided nature walk is included with your price of admission (US$ 5) and can be arranged at the visitors center.
Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary: Midway between Belize City and Orange Walk, this bird Sanctuary is home to the jabiru stork, the largest flying bird in the Western Hemisphere. This Sanctuary truly is a birder’s paradise also housing the nocturnal Boat-billed Herons, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Muscovy and many other exotic animals. The best time of the year for wildlife-watching is in May, when the water in the lagoon drops to its lowest level and the animals must come further out into the open to reach their food supply.
Gales Point: Don’t miss out on watching manatees in the Southern Lagoon by hiring a boat.
The Great Blue Hole: A sinkhole located in the center of Lighthouse Reef. The near perfect circular hole measures 1000 feet in diameter and drops to approximately 412 feet below the sea level. Made famous following an expedition by Jaques-Yves Cousteau in 1971, divers can explore remarkable stalactite formations, sharks, and many other terrific sights.
Half Moon Caye Natural Monument: The Monument, 10,000 acres of Lighthouse Atoll, is the site of a sanctuary for breeding colonies of the nesting sea-birds at Half Moon Caye. 98 bird species have been counted including the red-footed Booby bird, magnificent frigate bird, and black-chinned hummingbird. Also, three prominent members of the lizard family live on Half Moon Caye including the Iguana, the Wish Willy and the Lizard. The Lighthouse Reef is also home of the Blue Hole studied by Jacques Cousteau.
Hol Chan Marine Reserve (Little Channel): This five square mile underwater park was established in 1987 situated only four miles southeast of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. This reef is in the northern section of the Belize Barrier reef system which stretches for 150 miles. Strictly enforced no-fishing regulations have been made this thirty-foot-deep reserve a haven for large fish, moray eels, nurse sharks, and colorful species of coral as well as tropical fish.
Maritime Museum: built with contributions from local donors offering fascinating displays on the history and evolution of Belize’s boat building and fishing industry.
National Museum: the city’s colonial prison has recently been restored and declared a national museum. There you will find a permanent display of Maya culture as well as temporary exhibits on divers aspects of our cultural heritage. Also housed in the same building are the Central Bank of Belize and the Belize Tourism Board.
San Pedro, Ambergris Caye: Belize’s most popular island destination (population 2,000) located in the most northern part of the country. Accessible by air and sea. Watersport guides will take you to the barrier reef, the Blue Hole and to Turneffe Atoll. Rent a golf cart or a bicycle to get around the island. Many hotels and restaurants to choose from.
Swallow Caye Marine Reserve: manatees
Swing Bridge: The Belize City Swing Bridge has connected the downtown area since colonial days and is one of the few manually operated bridges still in use in the world.
CAYO DISTRICT
5 Blues Lake Park: accessed from St. Margaret’s Village, this Park is located in a most impressive setting in the forest-covered foothills of the Maya Mountains. It has unexplored cave systems and spectacular wildlife. It encompasses over 4,000 acres of prime tropical forest and archeological features. Five Blues is just a lake, but it displays a variety of vibrant blue hues.
Cahal Pech (Place of Ticks): This Maya site located in walking distance of San Ignacio Town center offers a panoramic view over the town and the Belize River Valley. Discover the remarkable contrast between the town and jungle, which are close in proximity. Cahal Pech was a city of some importance from 900 BC through AD 800. The 34 buildings are spread over 6 acres (2.4 hectares) and grouped around 7 plazas. The Mayan dugout canoes of Cahal Pech traversed the Macal, Mopan and Belize rivers to other sites, bartering such items as obsidian, salt, cacao, stone, pottery and food.
Caracol (The Snail): Largest known Mayan site in Belize with its tallest pyramid, the Caana (Sky palace), rising up to 145 feet high. Discovered in 1938, Caracol is located south of San Ignacio and once thought to be a minor site, excavations indicate that it was once the most powerful metropolis in the region when the ruler Lord Water defeated Tikal.
Caves Branch Jungle Camp: Located in the rainforest, fourteen miles south on the Hummingbird Highway, entrance at mile marker 41. Tube your way through miles of magnificent underground river caves once a site of ancient Maya ceremonies. Maya artifacts and wall carvings have been found in many caves. Experience the jungle by hiking its trails and enjoy kayaking down the river.
Chaa Creek Natural History Museum and Butterfly Farm: Animal skulls of for instance tapir, puma and jaguarundi greet you at the entrance of this new museum. Maps, displays, library, and archives sections are featured. The Blue Morpho Butterfly Breeding Center houses a caterpillar feeding and pupating station.
Che Chem Ha Caves: Once used by Mayans for storage and refuge, in these caves intact Mayan pottery was found which still remains in the ceremonial chamber. Members of the Morales family, who discovered the cave, act as guides, leading you up the steep slope to the cave mouth, then inside walking and even crouching exploring what the Maya left for a fee of US$25 for one to three people.
El Pilar: About 12 miles (19km) northwest of San Ignacio, El Pilar is perched almost 900 feet (275m) above the Belize River having been occupied for 15 centuries, from the Middle Preclassic (about 500 BC) through the Late Classic (about AD 1000) periods. With 25 plazas, the city was more than three times the size of Xunantunich.
Five Sisters Fall: these peaceful pools are accessible by an outdoor elevator ride (US$2) connecting with five falls cascading over a short drop-off.
Guanacaste National Park: located on the Western Highway at the Belmopan cutoff. The park is named for the giant guanacaste (tubroos) tree growing near the southwestern edge of the park. A hike along the park’s 2 miles (3km) of trails will introduce you to the abundant and colorful local bird life with over one hundred species of birds identified within the park.
Inland Blue Hole: Twelve miles south on the Hummingbird Highway at Blue Hole National Park. Visitors are welcome to take a cool dip in this 25-foot-deep pool of sparkling sapphire water located in a rainforest. Fed by underground tributaries of the Sibun River, it’s pleasantly cool on the hottest days providing an excellent swimming hole.
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve: 300 square miles of forest reserve east of San Ignacio Town. The reserve is home to numerous streams and falls including the Hidden Valley Falls (1,000 feet of cascading waterfalls) as well as the eerie vault-like chamber of Rio On Pools and Rio Frio Cave, a series of mini-pools and falls safe for swimming.
Rainforest Medicine Trail: formally called the Panti Medicine Trail, this herbal-cure research center begins at Ix Chel Farm. Dr. Eligio Panti, who died in 1996 at age 103, was a healer in San Antonio village who used traditional Mayan herb cures. The trail is a self-guiding path among the jungle’s natural cures. Ix Chel Farm recently established a wellness center and guesthouse.
Rio Frio Cave: This spectacular half-mile long cave is located in the Mountain Pine Ridge offering eerie light spills over huge boulders and structures.
Rio On Pools: Situated near Rio Frio Cave, you can enjoy swimming in a series of minipools which create a series of falls. Start at the top working your way down. Relish the breathtaking panoramic view from your lunch table.
Thousand Foot Falls: aka Hidden Valley Falls. This is the region’s highlight southeast of San Antonio. Surrounded by hiking trails you will experience a terrific view from a platform at the top of the cascade.
Vaca Falls: In the Vaca Falls area, the Chumpiate Maya Cave exhibits a world that is 2,000 years old. Climb up wooden ladders leading to secret ledges holding enormous Maya pottery. A 20 minute jungle hike leads to the cave (Che Chem Ha).
Xunantunich (Maiden of the rock): Located near the Western border at San Jose Succotz, this major Maya ceremonial center built atop a hill can be reached by hand-cranked car ferry across Mopan River. Three carved stelae found at the site are displayed in the plaza. “El Castillo”, the second tallest structure in Belize, reaches about 130 feet bearing remarkable stucco friezes on its sides. From its top you can enjoy a panoramic view of Cayo District and Guatemala.
COROZAL DISTRICT
Cerros (Maya Hills): These ruins of a Maya coastal trading center are reached by a scenic 20 minute boat ride across Chetumal Bay. Occupied primarily during the late Preclassic Period (300 BC), it is the best known ruin in Corozal, although no actual restoration of the structures has taken place. Its proximity to the New River made it a valuable trade center for Lamanai and other inland Mayan communities.
Santa Rita: This Maya ruin is situated one mile north of Corozal offering a beautiful view of the town and its waterfront. Santa Rita’s one restored Maya temple is in a small, tidy park just half a mile (1km) northwest of the Venus bus terminal in Corozal.
Shipstern Nature Reserve: After an one hour drive from Orange Walk - three miles from Sarteneja - you can experience more than 200 species of butterflies and learn how to raise them. We recommend to visit on a sunny day.
ORANGE WALK DISTRICT
Cuello: This small ceremonial center with 2,600-year-old history is now believed to be the oldest ruin site in the country. Obtain permission for the Distillery.
Lamanai (Submerged Crocodile): continuously occupied by the Maya from 1500 BC to AD 1675 – including the contact period with Spaniards, Lamanai offers a great jungle ambiance once arrived by boat via the scenic New River Lagoon. Displaying the most exotic features of ancient Maya art and architecture, the historical occupation is represented in the remains of two Christian churches and a sugar mill. Spanish friars converted the Maya , but by 1640 the Maya had reconverted to their ancient forms of worship. The archeological site was excavated by David Pendergast in the 1970s and ‘80s.
Rio Bravo Conservation Area: Northwestern Belize. Protecting 240,000 acres of tropical forest and its inhabitants, the Rio Bravo Conservation Area is the flagship project of the Programme for Belize (PFB). In addition to the wealth of plant and animal life here, over 60 Mayan sites have been discovered on the land. Walk the “Mahogany Trail” through this tropical forest and visit La Milpa (Cornfield), the third largest Maya site in Belize, believed
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