Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Pine Ridge, immediately south of the village. This breathtaking reserve has no formal
opening hours and few facilities for visitors; it may be possible to arrange a guided tour
if you call in at the museum, while
horseback expeditions
with José Tzul can be
booked through Cayo Adventure Tours (
T
824 3246,
W
cayoadventure.com).
Pacbitún
Just off Cristo Rey Rd, 2 miles east of San Antonio • No formal opening hours or admission fee
A short way west of the point where the Cristo Rey Road meets the Chiquibul Road,
an unmarked side road leads to the minimally cleared ruins of
Pacbitún
(
meaning
“stones set in the earth”). One of the oldest Preclassic sites in Belize (dated to 1000
BC), it became a major Maya ceremonial centre during the Classic period, and farming
terraces and mounds are still evident in the surrounding hills. Out of 24 temple
pyramids and a ball-court, only the area around high Plaza A has been cleared, where
you'll find the tombs of two elite women, which yielded a massive haul of Maya drums,
flutes, ocarinas and maracas.
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve
A vast rugged wilderness of rolling hills, peaks and gorges
that starts roughly ten miles
south of the George Price Highway, the
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve
holds some
of the most magnificent scenery in all Belize. Its heights are formed from some of the
oldest rocks in Central America, granite intrusions that have thrust upwards from the
bedrock that underlies the entire isthmus. Interspersed among them lie sections of
limestone riddled with superb
caves
. Generally a mixture of grassland and pine forest
growing in the nutrient-poor, sandy soil, the vegetation grows denser in the warmth of
the river valleys, while to the south of the Macal River the pines give way to rainforest.
Other than a handful of
tourist lodges
(see p.133) and the small forest reserve
headquarters at
Augustine/Douglas Silva
, the Pine Ridge is virtually uninhabited.
Almost all the visitors who pass this way are heading to the ancient city of
Caracol
(see
p.135), but it's well worth detouring slightly off the route to see attractions like the
towering
Thousand-foot Falls
on the northern flanks of the ridge, the scenic swimming
pools along the
Río On
stream, and the readily accessible
Rio Frio
cave.
The only road into the reserve itself is the
Chiquibul Road
, which leaves the highway
at Georgeville (see p.128), though that's joined by the
Cristo Rey Road
, a more direct
route from San Ignacio, just over a mile north of the
gate
where all visitors have to sign
in (there's no admission fee or opening hours). All the roads are unpaved, so they're
liable to become dangerously muddy during the rainy season; it's best to enquire locally
about current driving conditions before you set off.
4
Thousand-foot Falls
10 miles along Cooma Cairn Rd, which branches west at mile 14, Chiquibul Rd • Daily 6am-5pm • Bz$2
Five miles south of the intersection of Cristo Rey and Chiquibul roads, 3.6 miles
beyond the entrance to the Pine Ridge reserve,
Cooma Cairn Road
heads off to the east.
A dirt road that's even rougher than the Chiquibul Road, it's usually passable
nonetheless in an ordinary vehicle. After 3.3 miles, it passes the turn-off to the
Hidden
Valley Inn
, a remote property with its own network of superb trails that are
unfortunately open to guests only (see p.133). Continuing for another six miles brings
you to a point overlooking what's said to be the tallest waterfall in Central America,
Thousand-foot Falls
.
Despite their name, the falls drop for a total of around 1600ft. From the overlook,
however, roughly half a mile distant at the edge of a sheer slope, you can only see
perhaps the top third of the falls. The spectacular setting, fortunately little affected
by the pine beetle outbreak, makes it worth the trip; across the gorge, the long,
slender plume of water disappears into the thickly forested valley below. You can't
