San Ignacio
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Welcome to San Ignacio
San Ignacio is the heart and soul of the Cayo District, a vibrant traveler center from where all roads and activities fan out. Together with twin-town Santa Elena, on the east bank of the Macal River, this is the main population center of Cayo, with lots of good budget accommodation, decent restaurants and frequent transport.
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San Ignacio activities
Tikal Mayan Ruins History and Nature Day Trip from San Ignacio
Grab your passport, and meet your local guide upon pickup from your San Ignacio hotel in the morning. Your tour begins with an approximate 1.5-hour drive to Tikal National Park, located in Guatemala. Aboard your comfortable coach you'll cross over the border hassle-free.The ruins of more than 3,000 palaces, temples, ceremonial platforms, ball courts, and plazas dot this UNESCO World Heritage Site that once served as a religious, social, and political hub for the Mayan people. Throughout your visit, your guide shares historical background on the ancient kingdom. Head to Complex Q and R, where you'll see twin pyramids with altars set in front of the temples. Visit the Central Acropolis, a maze of courtyards and smaller temples. Gaze in awe at the Great Plaza, and see the Temple of the Grand Jaguar, which was built to honor and bury King Moon Double Comb. Here, three rooms are located inside the 144-foot (44-meter) temple. Take in the sight of Temple IV (the Double Head Serpent), Tikal’s tallest structure at 212 feet (64 meters) high. The intriguing Temple II, commonly known as the Temple of the Masks, also sits in this part of the park near the Great Plaza.Enjoy a delicious lunch in Tikal National Park before you explore the ruins on your own. Afterward, your guide transports you back to Belize with drop-off at your hotel in San Ignacio.
Belize Airport (BZE) Transfer to San Ignacio Hotels
Enjoy a hassle-free airport arrival transfer from Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport (BZE) near Belize City to your San Ignacio hotel. This stress-free shared transfer will take you directly to your San Ignacio hotel. Your transfer will be confirmed instantaneously, and you will be provided with a travel voucher to present to the driver.
Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave and Nature Hike from San Ignacio
Considered one of the best caves of Central America, Actun Tunichil Muknal has been feature by National Geographic, the Discovery Channel and the History Channel. Your guide will pick you up at your hotel in San Ignacio for the drive to ATM — a place where only Mayan priests and shamans could venture 1,000 years ago. Travel for 45 minutes along the Western Highway of Belize to Teakettle Village. It’s another 30-minute drive on a bumpy road south of the village to the Tapir Nature Reserve—a subtropical rainforest that receives at least 8 feet (2.4 meters) of rain per year.Here, your experienced guide leads your group on an easy 45-minute hike to the cave. Walk along the bank of the Roaring River, which you’ll cross three times before arriving at the cave entrance, where a lovely pool awaits — especially refreshing on a sunny day. Depending on the time of arrival, you’ll eat lunch before or after your caving adventure.To prepare your group to enter the cave, your guide provides a historical overview and safety briefing. After you’ve been outfitted with equipment and taught a variety of spelunking techniques, the real fun begins! The water passage allows you to splash and play as you wade through the water, which may come up to your ankles, knees, waist and even neck — sometimes requiring you to swim.About five minutes into the cave, you’ll find your biggest challenge at the ‘breakdown’ — where slabs of rock form the passageway. Your guide will show your group how to go from one rock to the other and slide in between a couple of boulders. At one point, you’ll climb up to a ledge to enter one of the most attractive parts of the cave, where archeologists have recorded more than 1,000 pieces of pottery and 14 human sacrifices. To explore this chamber, you’ll be required to remove your shoes (socks or bare feet are an option) in order to protect the natural surroundings, including impressive formations like rock columns, stalactites, stalagmites, citrines and flowstones. While exploring this living museum, your guide will share fascinating details about ancient Mayan rituals and ceremonies that once took place deep under the earth. You’ll learn how the Mayan priests took human offerings into the caves, displayed pots in symbolic ways and communicated with their gods.After your spelunking adventure, your guide will transport you back to your hotel in San Ignacio.
Shared Departure Transfer: San Ignacio Hotel to Belize International Airport
When you're ready to head to Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport near Belize City, this stress-free shared transfer will take you there directly from your San Ignacio hotel. Your transfer will be confirmed instantaneously, and you will be provided with a travel voucher to present to the driver.
Caracol Mayan Ruin, Chiquibul Forest Day Trip from San Ignacio
After a 7 a.m. hotel pickup in San Ignacio, board your comfortable minivan or SUV for the approximate 2.5-hour drive to Caracol, located within the Chiquibul Forest Reserve. En route, stop for a swim at Rio On Pools or Big Rock Falls, located on the Mountain Pine Ridge.Upon arrival, follow your guide on foot along a forest trail, where you’ll learn about regional flora and fauna as you take in the stunning scenery. Observe how the trees of this lowland tropical broadleaf rainforest have taken over, guarding the ancient mysteries of Caracol. You'll see where the Mayans once gazed at the stars, conducted their most sacred rituals, and plotted battles.Begin your tour at the visitor's center, which exhibits a number of artifacts from the site, including a recovered ceremonial altar. Your guide recounts the prehistory of peasants and nobles who built and used the courtyards, residences, and astronomical observatory within the complex. Around midday, enjoy a packed lunch before continuing your tour.View three plaza groups surrounding a central acropolis and two ball courts, along with a number of smaller structures. Visit one of Caracol’s largest buildings, a pyramid called Caana, which rises more than 140 feet (43 meters) above the forest floor.Your guide will point out the many hieroglyphic texts carved on stela, altars, and wall facades. Learn about the discovery of an ornately carved ball-court-marker, interpreted by archeologists as a claim of military victory over Tikal. At the end of your tour, board your coach for the return trip to San Ignacio with drop-off at your hotel around 5 p.m.
Xunantunich and Cave Tubing Combo Tour
Your local guide will be greet you (7:30am) at your hotel in San Ignacio Town and take you to Xunantunich Maya complex for approximately an hour hike around the epicenter of this magnificent Maya site. At this site you will have the opportunity to climb to the top of El Castillo, a Maya temple130 ft above the plaza floor - the second tallest structure in the country. Relax and enjoy panoramic view of the surrounding area from the top of El Castillo. You will then be taken to Jaguar Paw' where you will enjoy lunch followed by cave tubing through a very interesting cave system. Your cave tubing will start immediately after lunch and you will be hiking through the river and jungle trails (river stone paths) to the beginning of the actual cave tubing part, where you will get on your tubes and start tubing down the refreshing water of the Caves Branch River System. Be prepared to enjoy a relaxing tubing adventure or a free style, exciting tubing adventure powered by your energetic arms as you are guided by your local guide down through an interesting cave system. (the hike is 20 - 35 minutes depending on your walking pace) (a complete change of clothes is a must, as well as wet shoes - no flip flops allowed)(Lunch is a packed lunch and can accommodate most special dietary needs without any additional cost. Please let us know if you have any special dietary need upon booking.)TOUR time: approx. 9 hours. tour may be longer depending on local traffic, guests interests, etc.Price of tour includes: pickup and drop off from your hotel in San Ignacio Town, lunch, water & energy bar, guide for Xunantunich & Cave Tubing, entrance fees, cave tubing equipment. (NB: pickups and/or drop offs outside the San Ignacio Town area will incur an additional cost and is payable cash on day of tour to the local provider. You will be advised of this cost immediately after booking and confirmation of name of your hotel in San Ignacio Town. If you are staying outside of San Ignacio town you can avoid the additional fee by meeting us at a centrally located spot in San Ignacio Town which needs to be arranged before the date of tour)