Sights in Belize
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Caye Caulker Marine Reserve
Declared a marine reserve in 1998, the 61-sq-mile Caye Caulker Marine Reserve includes the portion of the barrier reef that runs parallel to the island, as well as the turtle-grass lagoon adjacent to the Caye Caulker Forest Reserve. Although the reef is regenerating after patchy hurricane damage, it is rich with sea life, including colorful sponges, blue-and-yellow queen angel fish, Christmas tree worms, star coral, redband parrotfish, yellow gorgonians and more. Between April and September, snorkelers and divers might even spot a turtle or a manatee. All local snorkel and dive operators lead tours to the Caye Caulker Marine Reserve.
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Lamanai
Perhaps the most fascinating Maya site in northern Belize, Lamanai lies 24 miles south of Orange Walk Town up the New River (or 36 miles by unpaved road). The ruins are known both for their impressive architecture and marvelous setting, surrounded by dense jungle overlooking the New River Lagoon. Most visitors approach Lamanai by guided river trip from Orange Walk not just to avoid the long and bumpy road, but to take advantage of the river trip itself, which goes deep into the home of the countless colorful and unusual birds that live in the area. Most guides who do the 1½-hour river trip are experts in both archaeology and the area’s wildlife, making it an especially…
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Altun Ha
Altun Ha, the ruins that have inspired Belikin beer labels and Belizean banknotes, stands 34 miles north of central Belize City, off the Old Northern Hwy.
During its peak in the Classic Period (AD 250–1000), Altun Ha was a rich and important Maya trading and agricultural town with a population of 8000 to 10,000. The entire site covered some 1500 acres, but what visitors today see is the central ceremonial precinct of two plazas surrounded by temples, excavated in the 1960s and now looking squeaky clean following a stabilization and conservation program from 2000 to 2004.
Altun Ha existed by at least 200 BC, perhaps even several centuries earlier, and flourished until the…
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Belize Zoo
The story of the Belize Zoo began with filmmaker Richard Foster, who shot a wildlife documentary entitled Path of the Raingods in Belize in the early 1980s. Sharon Matola – a Baltimore-born biologist, former circus performer and former US Air Force survival instructor – was hired to take care of the animals. By the time filming was complete, the animals had become partly tame and Matola was left wondering what to do with her 17 charges. So she founded the Belize Zoo, which displays native Belizean wildlife in natural surroundings on 29-acre grounds. From these beginnings, the zoo has grown to provide homes for animals endemic to the region that have been injured, orphaned…
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Cahal Pech
High atop a hill on the southern outskirts of San Ignacio, Cahal Pech is the oldest-known Maya site in the Belize River valley, having been first settled between 1500 and 1000 BC. Less impressive than Xunantunich and Caracol, it's still a fascinating example of Preclassic Maya architecture. It was a significant Maya settlement for 2000 years or more.
Cahal Pech (kah-hahl pech) is Mopan and Yucatec Mayan for 'Place of Ticks,' a nickname earned in the 1950s when the site was surrounded by pastures grazed by tick-infested cattle. Today it's a pleasantly shady site with plenty of trees and few tourists. Its core area of seven interconnected plazas has been excavated and…
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The Split
A narrow channel splits Caye Caulker into two distinct islands, and it's at the Split where you'll find a small public beach and the best swimming. It might look a bit postapocalyptic, with beach-goers lounging on bits of a broken wall, but its a popular and fun place to get to know the locals.
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Community Baboon Sanctuary
No real baboons inhabit Belize, but Belizeans use that name for black howler monkeys. Though howler monkeys live throughout Central and South America, the endangered black howler exists only in Belize, northern Guatemala and southern Mexico. The Community Baboon Sanctuary is spread over several long-established Creole villages in the Belize River valley. The sanctuary has engineered a big increase in this primate’s population and is doubly interesting because it’s a completely community-run, grassroots conservation operation. In addition to the near-certainty of seeing some of these fascinating primates, the sanctuary offers river trips (day and night) and horseback…
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Yaxhá
High upon a hill, overlooking the twin lakes of Laguna Yaxhá and Laguna Sacnab, this late Classic Maya site is the third-largest in Guatemala. Yaxhá translates as ‘green water,’ likely in reference to its lakeside location. (By the way, don’t be tempted to swim in the lakes, as the crocs will get you!) During its heyday in the 8th century, Yaxhá was home to a population of 20,000. Its 400-plus structures included five acropolises, two astronomical observatories and three ball courts. These days, excavations are ongoing, but it takes at least a couple of hours to look around the main groups of ruins. The high point (literally), towering above all else, is Templo 216 in…
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Swallow Caye Wildlife Sanctuary
About 19 miles southwest of Caye Caulker, the vast Swallow Caye Wildlife Sanctuary spans nearly 9000 acres, including Swallow Caye and some parts of nearby Drowned Caye. Here the ocean floor is covered with turtle-grass beds, which support a small population of West Indian manatees.
For years, guides have been bringing tourists to this spot, in the hope of catching a glimpse of these gentle creatures as they chow down on the turtle grass. But the constant traffic put stress on the habitat, having the unintended effect of harming the manatees. After tireless efforts on the part of conservationists and guides, a wildlife sanctuary was finally established in 2002.
Now strict…
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Caracol
Once one of the most powerful cities in the entire Maya world, Caracol now lies enshrouded by thick jungle near the Guatemalan border, a 52-mile, two-hour drive from San Ignacio. Sitting high on the Vaca Plateau, 1650ft above sea level, this is the largest Maya site in Belize, having stretched over possibly 70 sq miles at its peak around AD 650. Nearly 40 miles of internal causeways radiate from the center to large outlying plazas and residential areas, and connect parts of the city. At its height, the city’s population may have approached 150,000, more than twice as many people as Belize City has today. Though they had no natural water source, the people of Caracol dug…
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Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary
Between December and May, migrating birds flock to the lagoons, rivers and swamps of the massive Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, which is managed by Belize Audubon. The best bird-watching is in April and May, when the low level of the lagoon draws thousands of birds into the open to seek food in the shallows.
That said, at any time between December and May, bird-watchers are in for hours of ornithological bliss. Boat-billed, chestnut-bellied and bare-throated tiger herons, Muscovy and black-bellied whistling ducks, snail kites, ospreys, black-collared hawks and all of Belize's five species of kingfisher are among the 276 species recorded here. Jabiru storks, the largest…
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Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary
This is Belize's most famous, and one of its biggest, protected areas - the huge swath of tropical forest became the world's first jaguar sanctuary in 1984. Today it's home to an estimated 40 to 50 jaguars and a vast array of wildlife. Visits are restricted to an eastern pocket where there's an information center, accomodation and walking trails.
Cockscomb became a forest reserve and no-hunting area in 1984. A small part of it was given sanctuary status in 1986, and the rest followed in 1990. The people of the Mayan village of Quan Bank were compulsorily relocated - many now live in Maya Center and make a living from the sanctuary.
The sanctuary itself is not big enough…
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Museum of Belize
This modern museum in the Fort George district provides an excellent overview of the story of Belize. Housed in the country's former main jail (built of brick in 1857), the museum preserves one cell in its original state, complete with inmates' graffiti; if you thought your hotel room was cramped, think again! Fascinating historical photos and documents bear testimony to the colonial and independence eras, and the destruction wrought by hurricanes.
The Maya Treasures section, upstairs, is rather light on artifacts (most of Belize's finest Maya finds were spirited away to other countries) but there are some impressive examples of Maya jade, as well as some ceramics and…
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Green Iguana Exhibit & Medicinal Jungle Trail
On the lush Macal Valley grounds of the San Ignacio Resort Hotel, this program collects and hatches iguana eggs, raising the reptiles until they are past their most vulnerable age. The iguanas are then released into the wild, but not before giving guests a chance to get to know them. You'll get plenty of face time (and photo ops), as well as fun facts about iguanas. On the way back from the exhibit, learn about local herbs and plants on the medicinal jungle trail that winds through the forest.
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Glover's Reef
The southernmost of Belize's three atolls, Glover's Reef was named after the English pirate John Glover who attacked Spanish merchant ships from here. It sits atop a submerged mountain ridge on the edge of the continental shelf and is surrounded by enormous drop-offs - six small cayes of white sand and palm trees are dotted along the southeastern rim.
Extending 26km (16mi) north-south and up to 12km (7mi) east-west, Glover's Reef is included on the Belize barrier reef World Heritage list - it's also a marine reserve with a no-take zone covering most of the southern third of the atoll. Divers regularly see spotted eagle rays, southern stingrays, turtles, moray eels,…
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Asociación de Rescate Y Conservación de Vida Silvestre
The Asociación de Rescate y Conservación de Vida Silvestre, a Guatemalan NGO, has a rescue and rehabilitation center on the mainland northeast of Flores. It is home to wildlife such as macaws, parrots, jaguars, monkeys, kinkajous and coatis that have been rescued from smugglers and the illegal pet trade. The rehabilitation center itself is closed to visitors, but a Centro de Educación e Interpretación Ambiental (CEIA; Environmental Education & Interpretation Center) has been set up, with a 1-mile interpretative trail featuring medicinal plants and animal tracks, an area for viewing animals that cannot be returned to the wild, a beach and a bird observation deck.
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Ixpanpajul Nature Park
If you are wild about the rainforest, plan to spend a day at the Ixpanpajul Nature Park, a nature preserve and activity center. It’s not a huge place, but it packs a lot of fun into its 450 hectares, and it takes place at all levels of the rainforest. If you are partial to the canopy level, you will enjoy the Tarzan Tour, or zip-line, or you can saunter at your own pace along the Skywalk, a network of hanging bridges at the same level. You can explore the understory on horseback or by mountain bike, and arrange birding tours and night safaris. Simple cabanas and campsites are also available. Ixpanpajul is about 10km from Santa Elena on the road to Río Dulce.
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Mayflower Bocawina National Park
This is a beautiful park of jungle, mountains, swimming holes, waterfalls, ancient sites and nature trails - keep your eyes peeled for black howler monkeys. Don't miss the partly excavated Mayflower Mayan site, featuring two pyramids, which was occupied between AD 800-900, or the Maintzunun temple mound.
For a longer visit, stay at Mama Noots Jungle Resort - a beautiful, spacious plot which is run entirely on renewable energy. Some 238 bird species have been identified here. Mama also offers some adventurous guided hikes in the national park, and great Belizean and international food served in a spacious, thatch-roofed restaurant.
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Xunantunich
Belize's most accessible Maya site of significance, Xunantunich (pronounced shoo-nahn-too-neech), is reached via a free hand-cranked ferry across the Mopan River at San José Succotz. Climb to the top of El Castillo, the largest structure set 40m (130ft) above the main plaza, to enjoy a spectacular 360-degree view.
Set on a leveled hilltop, Xunantunich may have been occupied as early as 1000 BC but was little more than a village until the 7th century AD, when the large architecture we now see began to be built. A good visitors center, between the ticket office and the hilltop ruins, explains Xunantunich's history.
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St Herman's Blue Hole National Park
The 575-acre St Herman’s Blue Hole National Park contains one of the few caves in Belize that you can visit independently. The visitors center (where flashlights can be rented for BZ$5) is 11 miles along the Hummingbird Hwy from Belmopan. From here a 500yd trail leads to St Herman’s Cave. A path leads 300yd into the cave alongside an underground river. To explore deeper in the extensive cave system, with its huge caverns and classic Maya ceremonial chambers containing calcified skeletons and artifacts, you must have a guide. Ask at the visitors center.
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Xunantunich
Set on a leveled hilltop, Xunantunich (pronounced shoo-nahn-too-neech), is one of Belize's most easily accessible and impressive Maya archaeological sites. To reach the ruins, take the free, hand-cranked ferry across the Mopan River. From the ferry, which comes and goes on demand, it's about 1 mile uphill to the parking lot and ticket office. It's a semi-strenuous walk with great opportunities for sighting birds and butterflies. At the end, your reward is a complex of temples and plazas that date back to the 7th century.
Xunantunich may have been occupied as early as 1000 BC but it was little more than a village. As mentioned, the large architecture that we see today began…
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Gulisi Garifuna Museum
This museum, operated by the National Garifuna Council (NGC), is a must for anyone interested in the vibrant Garifuna people. The museum is 2 miles out of town, on Stann Creek Valley Rd, but is easily reached by bicycle. It brings together artifacts, pictures and documents on Garifuna history and culture, including film of the original punta rockers, Pen Cayetano and the Turtle Shell Band, in Dangriga back in 1983. The museum is currently hosting an exhibit on the life and music of the late Garifuna musician Andy Palacio, who passed away in 2009.
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St John's Cathedral
Immediately inland of Government House stands St John's Cathedral, the oldest Anglican church in Central America. It was built by slave labor between 1812 and 1820 using bricks brought from Britain as ballast. Notable things to see inside are the ancient pipe organ and the Baymen-era tombstones that tell their own history of Belize's early days and the toll taken on the city's early settlers.
A block southwest is Yarborough Cemetery, where you'll see the graves of less prominent early citizens – an even more turbulent narrative of Belize, which dates back to 1787.
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Marie Sharp’s Fine Foods
Habanero peppers, purchased from local farmers, are turned into the super-hot bottled sauces that adorn tables all over Belize and beyond at Marie Sharp’s Fine Foods, 8 miles northwest of town on Melinda Rd. Casual tours, often led by Marie herself, are offered during business hours, and the factory shop sells hot sauces and jams at outlet prices
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Image Factory
The country's most innovative and exciting art gallery, near the Caye Caulker Water Taxi Terminal, stages new exhibitions most months, usually of work by Belizean artists. Opening receptions are usually held early in the month; cocktails are served on the Image Factory's deck, which looks out on Haulover Creek. The adjoining shop sells art, gifts and the country's best range of books.
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