Mark Read
Southern Belize is the country's most absorbing cultural melting pot, with a strong Garifuna influence around Dangriga and Hopkins, and Belize's largest Maya population down in Toledo. Nature is rich here too, where open savanna and citrus-filled farmland give way to forested hills dotted with Maya villages, ruins and national parks primed for adventurous jungle trekking.
The beaches of villagey Hopkins and chilled-out Placencia are inviting, with their opportunities for diving, fishing and slacking, while offshore is an alluring string of cays including Tobacco Caye and Glover's Reef. These are less well known than those in the north but here snorkeling, boating and diving enthusiasts can experience Belize's nautical reef wonders while avoiding the crowds and high costs of the Northern Cayes.
Southern Belize may be off the radar for many but you can't say you've truly seen Belize until you've been down south.
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Southern Belize.
See
Two Kekchí families in Big Falls village have opened up their homes as a cultural experience for visitors and both are excellent. The Cal family demonstrates ancient Maya lifestyle from tortilla- and chocolate-making to traditional instruments and an exploration of their self-sufficient garden. With the Chiac family, you can learn to make woven Maya crafts – baskets, hammocks or bags.
See
The Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is Belize’s most famous sanctuary and one of its biggest protected areas. This great swath of tropical forest became the world’s first jaguar sanctuary in 1984, thanks to the efforts of American zoologist Alan Rabinowitz. Today this critical biological corridor is home to an estimated 40 to 50 jaguars and a vast array of other animal, bird and botanical life. The unpaved, 6-mile road to the sanctuary starts at the village of Maya Center, on the Southern Hwy, 5 miles south of the Hopkins turnoff. The sanctuary office, where you pay admission, is at the end of the road. The office has trail maps (BZ$5) plus a few gifts, soft drinks and chocolate bars for sale. You can also rent binoculars (BZ$5 per day). The visitor sighting book records instances of people spotting jaguars (often on the drive in), so it is possible. But, despite its size, the sanctuary itself isn't big enough to support a healthy breeding population of jaguars. However, its position adjacent to other reserves and swaths of jungle make it part of a biological corridor that, many believe, offers promise for the jaguar's future in Central America. Belize's four other wild cats, the puma, ocelot, margay and jaguarundi, also reside in and pass through the sanctuary, as do tapirs, anteaters, armadillos (the jaguar's favorite prey – crunchy on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside), brocket deer, coatimundis, kinkajous, otters, peccaries, tayras iguanas, local rodents such as gibnuts, and other animals native to the area. The sanctuary is also home to countless birds: over 290 feathered species have been spotted. Egrets, hummingbirds, the keel-billed toucan, king vulture, great curassow and scarlet macaw are just a few that live in or pass through the park. There's also a thriving community of black howler monkeys living close to the visitors center. If you don't see them near the center, you'll definitely hear their eerie, cacophonous howling if you stay overnight. Large boa constrictors, small (and deadly poisonous) fer-de-lances and tiny coffee snakes are some of the snakes that call the sanctuary home.
See
Renowned throughout Belize for his art and music, Pen Cayetano's workshop and gallery displays Garifuna artifacts and crafts. It also has works of art and music by Pen, and the textile artwork of his wife, Ingrid, available for sale. Among the unique items are drums made of turtle shells, which sell for around BZ$50. There are also occasional musical shows by Pen and drum workshops led by local drummers. The gallery is west of town down a small side street.
See
This museum, operated by the National Garifuna Council (NGC), is a must for anyone interested in the vibrant Garifuna people. It brings together artifacts, pictures and documents on Garifuna history and culture, including an exhibit on the life and music of the late Garifuna musician Andy Palacio. A free guided tour is included with admission. The museum is 2 miles out of town; ask any bus heading out of Dangriga to drop you here.
See
The Maya ruins of Nim Li Punit stand atop a natural hill half a mile north of the Southern Hwy, near the village of Indian Creek. The site is notable for the 26 stelae found in the southern Plaza of the Stelae. Four of the finest are housed in the stela house beside the visitors center. Stela 14, at 33ft, is the second-longest stela found anywhere in the Maya world (after Stela E from Quirigua, Guatemala). It shows the ruler of Nim Li Punit in an offering or incense-scattering ritual, wearing an enormous headdress which is responsible for the name Nim Li Punit ('Big Hat' in Kekchí Maya). Rediscovered in 1976 by oil prospectors, Nim Li Punit was inhabited from some point in the middle Classic Period (AD 250–1000) until sometime between AD 800 and 1000. It was probably a town of 5000 to 7000 people at its peak, and likely was a political and religious community of some importance in the region. The most interesting part of the site is the south end, comprising the Plaza of the Stelae and the Plaza of Royal Tombs. The Plaza of the Stelae is thought to have acted as a calendrical observatory: seen from its western mound, three of the small stones in front of the long eastern mound align with sunrise on the equinoxes and solstices. The Plaza of Royal Tombs, with three open, excavated tombs, was a residential area for the ruling family. Archaeologists uncovered four members of this family in Tomb 1, along with several jadeite items and 37 ceramic vessels. Nim Li Punit has a good visitors center where you can view various items preserved from earlier excavations, as well as hire tour guides or get general information. Buses along the highway will drop you off or pick you up at the turnoff.
See
The tiny Garifuna fishing community of Barranco (population 160), about an hour's drive from Punta Gorda, is the access point for Temash-Sarstoon National Park, a remote 64-sq-mile protected reserve of rainforest, wetlands, estuaries and rivers lined by towering mangroves and stretching all the way to Guatemala. The park harbors a huge variety of wildlife including jaguars, tapirs, ocelots, birdlife and manatees in the estuaries. Two Barranco natives deeply involved in both local tourism and park conservation are Egbert Valencio and Alvin Loredo; both lead land and river tours (around BZ$200 per day) into the nearby park given at least a few days' notice. Ask in Punta Gorda about the boat service to Barranco that was mooted when we visited.
See
About 13 miles northwest of Punta Gorda and 2 miles off the Southern Hwy, the village of Laguna is the starting point for the 8.6-sq-mile Aguacaliente Wildlife Sanctuary, an extensive wetland area. The lagoon, at the heart of the park, is home to flocks of ibis and woodstork, many raptors including ospreys, plenty of kingfishers and herons and the odd jabiru stork. There's a visitors center on the trail from the village. The two-hour hike in can be wet and muddy and is sometimes impossible at the height of the rains.
See
The super-hot bottled sauces that adorn tables all over Belize and beyond are made from habanero peppers here at Marie Sharp's Factory, 8 miles northwest of town on Melinda Rd. Free tours are usually offered during business hours (by advance reservation), and the factory shop sells hot sauces and jams at outlet prices. If you can't make it to the factory, Marie Sharp's also has a store in Dangriga.
See
About a 20-minute walk along a jungle path from the bridge is Blue Creek Cave, which you can only enter with a guide. The cave has a ‘wet side,’ where you swim and wade up to an underground waterfall (about one hour in the cave), and a ‘dry side’ where you can try a more difficult venture involving some climbing and emerge at a different entrance. Guides and caving equipment can be hired in the village.