Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
hub of the country's transport system. Nearby, the
Belize Zoo
is easily the best in Central America
and well worth making a special effort to visit.
Northern Belize is relatively flat and swampy,
with a large proportion of agricultural land.
Lamanai
, near Orange Walk, is a hugely
impressive Maya site, while the lagoons, at
Shipstern Nature Reserve
on the northeast coast
and inland at
Crooked Tree
, provide superb
habitats for birds. The vast
Río Bravo Conservation
and Management Area
, in the northwest, offers
exceptional opportunities for getting up close with
wildlife.
As the mainland coast consists almost entirely of
low-lying marshes, anyone seeking swimming and
underwater activities has to visit the cayes. The
largest,
Ambergris Caye
, draws over half of all
Belize's tourists, with the tiny resort town of
San
Pedro
as the main destination;
Caye Caulker
, just
south, is the most popular island for independent
travellers. Organized diving and snorkelling
day-trips head for the wonderful coral islands of
Turneffe Atoll
and
Lighthouse Reef
.
In the west,
San Ignacio
and its environs offer
everything the eco-tourist could want: Maya ruins
and rainforest, rivers and caves and excellent,
low-impact accommodation in every price range.
Caracol
, the largest Maya site in Belize, is an adventurous day-trip from here, while the
magnificent ruins of
Xunantunich
lie close to the Guatemalan border. Cross into
Guatemala and you can quickly reach the stunning Maya city of
Tikal
, as well as little
Flores
, a gorgeous island town.
Dangriga
, the main town of the south-central region, is a jumping-off point for visitors
to the
central cayes
and
Glover's Reef
, Belize's remotest atoll. Further south, on the coast,
the laidback Garifuna village of
Hopkins
is a popular destination for backpackers in
particular, while
Placencia
, at the tip of a long, curving peninsula, is a relaxed resort
that's home to some of the country's finest
beaches
. Inland, the Cockscomb Basin
Wildlife Sanctuary, the world's only
jaguar reserve
, offers superb
hiking
. The majority of
visitors to the coastal community of
Punta Gorda
, the main town of Toledo District, are
on their way by boat to or from Puerto Barrios in Guatemala. Venture inland, however,
and you'll come across the villages of the Mopan and Kekchí Maya, set in lovely
countryside and surrounded by the country's only true rainforest. Here are yet more
caves, rivers and Maya sites, including
Lubaantun
.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT
WHITE EGRET AT CROOKED TREE WILDLIFE SANCTUARY; XUNANTUNICH; MAYA VILLAGE, TOLEDO
FACT FILE
•
Belize shares a border with
Mexico
to the north and
Guatemala
to the west and
south. Its 8666 square miles of
land make it roughly the size of
Massachusetts or Wales, while it
also incorporates a slightly larger
area of territorial waters in the
Caribbean Sea
.
•
Tourism is the mainstay of the
economy
, with just under two
thirds of almost a million annual
visitors arriving from the US.
Agriculture and fishing still play
important roles.
•
Belize's
National Assembly
consists of the House of
Representatives, with 31 members,
and the Senate, with thirteen. The
government is headed by the
Prime Minister but Belize is a
constitutional monarchy with
Queen Elizabeth II as head of state.
She is represented in Belize by the
Governor-General, who is always a
Belizean.
•
Belize's
national anthem
is
“Land of the Free by the Carib Sea”.
The national
animal
is the Baird's
tapir, the national
bird
is the
keel-billed toucan, the national
flower
is the black orchid, and the
national
tree
is the mahogany
tree.
