Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
he o
cial route to Barton Creek, signposted to the left off the Chiquibul Road four
miles south of Georgeville, is now impassable. Follow the track that turns east another
two miles south instead, which leads through the traditional Mennonite settlement of
Upper Barton Creek
, and fords the creek before eventually reaching a jade-green pool,
where you board your canoe. On the far side, the water disappears into the jungle-
framed cave entrance, and visitors follow the river underground, crouching down in
places where the cave roof dips low. After around a mile you emerge into a gallery
blocked by a huge rockfall. If it's been raining, a subterranean waterfall cascades over
the rocks - an unforgettable sight. Beyond lie many more miles of passageways,
accessible only on a fully equipped expedition. The clear, slow-moving river fills most
of the width of the cave, while the roof soars up to 300ft overhead.
Maya burial sites
surrounded by pottery vessels line the banks; the most awe-inspiring is marked by a
skull set in a natural rock bridge used by the Maya to reach the sacred site.
Green Hills Butterfly Ranch
Mile 8, Chiquibul Rd • Daily 8am-4pm • Bz$20 with guided tour, last tour at 3.30pm •
T
820 4017,
W
green-hills.net
Belize's largest butterfly exhibit, the fascinating
Green Hills Butterfly Ranch
, spreads
across a lush hillside eight miles south of the George Price Highway, opposite the
horse-riding facility of
Mountain Equestrian Trails
(see p.133). While primarily a centre
for scientific research, it's also open to visitors, for whom the main attraction is the
enclosed, beautifully landscaped
flight area
, where flocks of gorgeous tropical butterflies
flutter around, settling occasionally on flowers to sip nectar. Over eighty different
species have been bred here, though you'll usually see around twenty-five to thirty at
any one time, depending on the time of year and the breeding cycle. Enthusiastic,
well-trained local guides give excellent briefings.
Early-morning visitors may be lucky enough to watch butterflies emerging from
jewelled chrysalises; many of the chrysalises are shipped for exhibit in the US. It's also
possible, by appointment, to observe the flight of large owl butterflies, which takes place
at dusk. To raise butterflies you also need to know about their food plants; the adjoining
botanical garden is home to Belize's national
passionflower
collection, as well as countless
epiphytes (air plants), cycads, heliconias and orchids, and a tropical fruit orchard.
The ranch is run by Dutch biologists Jan Meerman and Tineke Boomsma, both of
whom have published extensively - including a
Checklist of the Butterflies of Belize
- on
insects, reptiles, amphibians and flowers. They've also discovered several new species,
including a
tarantula
-
Citharacanthus meermani
- at Green Hills itself.
4
Cristo Rey Road
he unpaved
Cristo Rey Road
runs for just over twelve miles from Santa Elena, San
Ignacio's sister community on the east bank of the Macal River, to meet the Chiquibul
Road near the northern edge of the
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. The most
direct route between San Ignacio and the reserve, it also forms a convenient loop drive
with the Chiquibul Road; most day-trip tours enter the area via one road and leave it
by the other.
As well as offering access to various riverside lodges - though only those on the eastern
side of the Macal, not those reached via the Chial Road to the west - it passes through a
succession of pretty Maya villages, where roadside stores sell locally made crafts.
San Antonio
Surrounded by scattered
milpa
farms and overlooked by the forested Maya Mountains,
the village of
SAN ANTONIO
stands nine miles south of San Ignacio along the Cristo
Rey Road. Most of its inhabitants are descended from Yucatec Maya (or
Masawal
)
refugees who fled the Caste Wars in Yucatán in 1847. They speak Yucatec and Spanish
as well as English, and also refer to the village by the Maya name of
Tanah
.
