Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cayo and the west
The fast George Price Highway - known until 2012 as the Western Highway
- runs for eighty miles west from Belize City to the border with Guatemala.
By the time you reach the incongruous little capital city of Belmopan, fifty
miles along, you've swapped the heat and humidity of the coast for a riverine
landscape of rich pastures and citrus groves, and entered the lush, irresistible
Cayo district.
The largest and arguably the most beautiful of Belize's six districts, Cayo makes a
compelling destination for visitors. Complementing an oceanfront stay on the cayes
with a few days exploring the forests and valleys of Cayo inland, to create what
Americans like to call a “surf 'n' turf vacation”, enables you to see the very best the
country has to offer. Apart from the spectacular landscape itself, the headline
attractions are the astonishing caves such as
Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM)
, where
real-life Indiana-Jones-style expeditions lead you past ancient relics including the
actual skeletons of sacrificial victims; the remote, long-abandoned Maya city of
Caracol
; and canoe or kayak trips along the
Macal River
, tumbling from the Maya
Mountains in the far west.
Most of southern and western Cayo, including the entire Maya Mountain range, is
protected within a vast network of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and forest and
archeological reserves that stretch from the Caribbean coast to the Guatemalan border.
While much of it is dense jungle, some areas are surprisingly temperate: the
Mountain
Pine Ridge Forest Reserve
, for example, is a pleasantly cool region of hills, pine woods
and waterfalls.
Much of Cayo's accommodation is in
luxury lodges
, tucked away in the backcountry
down dirt roads. While they're consistently wonderful, and often remarkably well
priced, if you're hoping to explore the region in depth - and especially if you don't have
your own vehicle - they can feel a little isolated. Belmopan being a humdrum sort of a
place, the ideal base for independent travellers is the busy town of
San Ignacio
, on the
Macal River just nine miles from the Guatemalan border. Note that the region as
whole is small enough that there's no need to change your lodgings night by night;
most visitors stay in one or at most two hotels, and explore on day-trips.
GETTING AROUND
4
CAYO AND THE WEST
By bus
Public transport is largely restricted to the buses
that ply the George Price Highway from Belize City, via
Belmopan and San Ignacio, all the way to Guatemala.
Some of the villages around San Ignacio are also served by
infrequent local buses, but to reach the mountain reserves
and remoter Maya sites you'll need either to rent your own
vehicle or to arrange guided tours.
Belmopan
Belize's purpose-built capital,
BELMOPAN
, was founded in 1970 in a Brasília-style bid
to focus development on the interior, nearly a decade after Hurricane Hattie swept
much of Belize City into the sea. Located immediately south of the point where the
ATM practicalities
p.126
Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve
p.128
The Pine Ridge lives on
p.132
The lost city of Caracol
p.135
Wildlife at Caracol
p.137
The story of Xunantunich
p.147
