Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
St Herman's Blue Hole National Park
Established in 1986 and managed by the Belize Audubon Society, the wildlife-rich
ST HERMAN'S BLUE HOLE NATIONAL PARK
consists, as its unwieldy name suggests, of
two principal sections. Connected by an underground stream but accessed via separate
entrances,
St Herman's Cave
and the
Blue Hole
stand a mile apart on the western side of
the Hummingbird Highway, a dozen miles south of Belmopan. Visitors can easily
reach both using public transport or their own vehicles, though to explore the
cave
network
that's the park's biggest attraction you'll need the services of a guide.
Three of the five species of
cats
found in Belize - the jaguar, ocelot and jaguarundi
- have been sighted within park boundaries; black howler monkeys are occasionally
heard; and other mammals seen here include tapir, collared and white-lipped peccaries,
tamandua (anteaters), gibnut, coatimundi, opossum, deer, kinkajou and many species
of bats. It's also home to more than 175 species of birds, including the slaty-breasted
tinamou, black hawk-eagle, crested guan, lovely cotinga, nightingale wren and
red-legged honeycreeper.
St Herman's Cave
Mile 12.2, Hummingbird Hwy • Daily 8am-4.30pm • Bz$8, also includes Blue Hole •
T
223 5004,
W
belizeaudubon.org
A short way south of the point where the Hummingbird Highway crosses the Caves
Branch River,
St Herman's Cave
is something rare for Belize: a cave it's possible to visit
on your own. On an unaccompanied visit to St Herman's, however, you'll only get a
small glimpse of what caving hereabouts has to offer. That's fine if you're also planning
to take a guided tour of a cave such as ATM (see p.125) or Barton Creek (see p.128); if
this is the only cave system you're likely to see, on the other hand, it's well worth hiring
a guide, which is best arranged in advance through your hotel.
Beyond the
visitor centre
at the parking area - which holds good displays on local
plant, bird and animal life, and bats in particular - a clearly marked ten-minute trail
leads to the entrance to the cave itself. From here on in, you'll need a torch, first to
descend steps cut by the Maya to reach the hole that gapes in the dripping rock face,
and then to scramble over the rocks and splash along the shallow river inside. Solo
visitors are only allowed to venture along the dark and eerie trail for about three
hundred yards, which is enough to become thoroughly disoriented. At that point you
have to retrace your steps, and if you choose can make your way back to the road via
the longer “Highland” trail, which leads past unusually shaped rocks and a spectacular
observation platform.
To continue any deeper into St Herman's Cave, and emerge from another opening,
you need to join a
tour
. Operators such as Maya Guide Adventures (see p.121)
combine the trip with an expedition through the nearby
Crystal Cave
, also known as
Mountain Cow Cave, which as well as crystal formations holds calcified artefacts and
even skeletons left by ancient Maya shamans. The typical cost of around US$85 per
person includes the entrance fee, all equipment and lunch.
4
The Blue Hole
Mile 13.1, Hummingbird Hwy • Daily 8am-4.30pm • Bz$8, also includes St Herman's Cave •
T
223 5004,
W
belizeaudubon.org
Sometimes known as the “Inland Blue Hole”, to distinguish it from its namesake on
Lighthouse Reef, the
Blue Hole
that gave its name to St Herman's Blue Hole National
Park is not so much a hole as a short, 30ft-wide stretch of underground river revealed
by a collapsed karst cavern, or
cenote
. Located just a few yards off the Hummingbird
Highway, it's reached by an easy hundred-yard trail from a car park that holds a grassy
picnic area and entrance kiosk, but no visitor centre.
Usually cool, fresh, and coloured a spectacular turquoise - though be warned that
rainy-season run-off can turn things a muddy grey - the waters of the “hole” are perfect
for a refreshing dip. Surrounded by dense forest and overhung with vines, mosses and
ferns, the river continues to flow on the surface for about fifty yards, before disappearing
