Belize is a gorgeous and popular tourist destination in Central America that is filled with indescribable beauty like the Great Blue Hole, ancient Maya Ruins, pristine rainforests, jungle rivers, and so much more.
Here are 15 incredible places around Belize that are definitely worth adding to your bucket list:
1) San Ignacio Town: The town itself is a launching pad for amazing day trips in the area. Tourists can visit the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic church built in 1926 and they can spend the day inner tubing or paddling down the mighty Macal River.
2) Placencia: 16 miles of beaches makes this destination a tourist’s delight with quaint shops, restaurants and pubs to visit.
3) Ambergris Caye: Going to Belize to party? Ambergris Caye is your place. Plus you will find an abundance of shops, water sports and even Mayan ruins to fill your days!
4) Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave: Best known for the “Crystal Maiden,” a sacrificed girl whose bones now sparkle. The cave is marked for its stoneware, ceramics, and skeletons.
5) Cahal Pech Maya Ruins: Recently unearthed, these ruins include temple pyramids, five stelae, an altar and ball courts. The Mayans lived here from 1,000 B.C. to 800 A.D.
6) Xunantunich Maya Ruins: Home to a 133 foot high structure that is decorated with sun god masks, it is the highest central ruin in the country. Also home to 25 enchanting temples and palaces.
7) Barton Creek Cave: Accessible by canoe, this is a wet cave the Mayans used for ceremonial purposes. Skeletal remains as well pottery and other artifacts abound.
8) Mountain Pine Ridge: The oldest of Belize’s natural parks, this reserve boasts 300 square miles of natural trails, Rio on Pools, Rio Frio Cave, Big Rock Waterfalls and more.
9) Caracol Maya Ruins: Home to “Caana,” which are massive temples, Caracol is the largest Maya city ever discovered in Belize. Find hieroglyphic carvings and visit an onsite museum.
10) El Pilar Maya Ruins: Occupied by the Mayans between 500 B.C. and 1,000 A.D., El Pilar features 12 pyramids and 25 plazas and continues to be excavated by the University of California.
11) Caves Branch Cave: Made up of three different cave systems, these caves are named for the objects found inside each cave and include Waterfall, Footprint and Petroglyph. Caves Branch Cave is a popular and very scenic attraction.
12) Belize Blue Hole: A diver’s paradise, the hole is truly blue and is 124 m deep and 300 m wide. Divers and snorkelers will find nurse sharks, reef sharks and bull sharks here.
13) Caye Caulker: Aside from brightly colored clapboard houses, this Caye boasts underwater caves, rich marine life and a Barrier Reef second only to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.
14) Belize Zoo: The very best way to see the animals that are native to Belize. It features 170 animals in a tropical savannah that spans 29 acres.
15) Hopkins: A charming Garifuna Village where you can go to dive in Glover’s Atoll, kayak, canoe, hike, zipline, visit ruins, windsurf and soak in the local culture.
