Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
is accessible with a vehicle by following signs north off the
highway at Mile 49, just west of Roaring Creek, or on foot
by hiking a 2-mile dirt road from opposite the airstrip at
Mile 46
, then
crossing
the river
via a sm
all ferr
y. Chalet
s
US$75
, rooms
US$130
,
cabañas
US$145
, suites
US$175
★
while a bar, romantically set in the treetops, serves coffee,
smoothies, cocktails and beers. With a reputation for
personalized service, the intimate family feel is also evident
in the on-site restaurant, with Maya chefs cooking delicious
Belizean and international meals with the property's own
organic fruit and veg. All-inclusive packages available. The
dome is next to
Banana Bank Lodge
; get here with a vehicle
by leaving the highway at Mile 49, just west of Roaring
Creek, or hike the 2-mile dirt road opposite the airstrip, a
mile east of t
he Bel
mopan
turn-off
, and cross the river by
ferry. Rooms
US$95
, suites
US$115
Belize Jungle Dome
Mile 47, George Price Hwy
T
822 2124,
W
belizejungledome.com.
Highly unusual
B&B resort, centring on a geodesic-domed house beside the
Belize River, specializing in adventure travel and owned by
English footballer and Dutch TV presenter Andy and Simone
Hunt. All five a/c rooms back onto a superb swimming pool,
EATING AND DRINKING
If you're simply passing through Belmopan, or have a few minutes to spare between buses, it's easy to pick up a snack from the
local
food stalls
close to the bus terminal. Note that many of the town's conventional
restaurants
are closed on Sundays.
Caladium
Market Square
T
822 2754.
The smartest
restaurant in town, facing the bus terminal, serves as a
rendezvous for o
cials and diplomats. The food isn't
particularly fancy or imaginative, but it's tasty enough, and
comes in substantial portions, with Belizean favourites like
beans and rice with your choice of meat for around Bz$10,
and shrimp or steak for more like Bz$20-25.
Mon-Fri
7.30am-8pm, Sat 7.30am-7pm.
Corkers
Hibiscus Plaza, Constitution Drive
T
822 0400,
W
corkersbelize.com.
Lively upper-level restaurant/bar,
run by the same friendly British owners as the
Hibiscus
Hotel
alongside, with seating in the indoor bar area or on
the large, breezy outdoor terrace. The decent pub-grub
menu ranges from simple snacks and salads, via vegetarian
or meaty pasta dishes at Bz$15-18, to huge barbecue
platters of chops, ribs and sausages, designed to share, at
Bz$65.
Mon-Wed 11am-8pm, Thurs-Sat 11am-10pm.
Pasquale's
Forest Drive
T
822 4663,
W
pasquales
belize.com.
Popular American-owned pizza spot, with
plentiful outdoor seating, beside the road that connects the
centre with Hummingbird Hwy. Ten-inch, six-slice pizzas
start at Bz$25, and calzones at Bz$15.
Mon-Sat
11am-9pm, Sun noon-9pm.
4
SHOPPING
Art Box
Mile 46, George Price Hwy
T
623 6129,
W
artboxbz.com.
One of the country's best and largest
crafts and souvenir shops, a couple of miles east of the
intersection of the George Price and Hummingbird
highways, beside a minor back road that heads south into
Belmopan. A popular tour-bus halt, it specializes in carved
rosewood artefacts and furniture, along with colourful
Belizean paintings, jewellery, pottery, music, books and
T-shirts, many with Christian themes. There's also a good
café, serving espresso coffees and tropical fruit ice cream,
with outdoor seating.
Mon-Sat 8am-6pm.
The Hummingbird Highway
The scenic
Hummingbird Highway
runs for 55 miles southeast from Belmopan to meet
the coast at Dangriga (see p.178). While the second half of that route lies in southern
Belize, its initial stages, running through lush forest with the green slopes of the
Maya
Mountains
rising to the west, lie within the Cayo District, and are generally visited in
conjunction with the rest of Cayo.
The chief attractions here are the caves and
cenotes
along the
Caves Branch River
, a
tributary of the Sibun that flows beneath the highway twelve miles out of Belmopan. If
you're simply passing through, these can most readily be seen in
St Herman's Blue Hole
National Park
. Staying at, or joining a tour with, the sole accommodation option, the
veteran
Caves Branch Jungle Lodge
, enables in-depth explorations of the area's
subterranean wonders, with potential activities including kayaking and rappelling.
Once past Belmopan, the only settlement en route is the verdant village of
Armenia
,
which in the last couple of decades has grown to house to a population of around a
thousand refugees from El Salvador and Guatemala.
