Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
furniture - two king-size beds in each - plus fan, hot-
water bathroom and fridge. There's an extra charge for
food, which includes lots of fresh fruit (numerous mangos)
and vegetables, alongside American and Belizean home
cooking, like baked potatoes, quality burgers and
vegetarian options. Camping is also available, and high-
quality loc al guid es offer fishi ng and r iver trips. Camping
per person US$20 , bungalows US$113
The Cockscomb Basin
Cupped beneath the sharp ridges of the Maya Mountains, and watered by torrential
rains, the Cockscomb Basin is a vast natural bowl that holds some of the most accessible
yet unspoiled rainforest in Belize. Since 1986, it has been home to the Cockscomb
Basin Wildlife Sanctuary , the world's only dedicated jaguar reserve , located seven miles
west of the Southern Highway. For much longer than that, however, the basin has been
home to the Maya ; the ruins of Kuchil Balam , a Classic-period ceremonial centre, still
lie hidden in the forest, while the modern village of Maya Center now marks the
approach to the sanctuary from the highway. During the twentieth century, the forest
was also exploited by mahogany loggers; the names of their abandoned camps, such as
Leave If You Can and Go to Hell, illustrate how they felt about life in the forest.
6
Maya Center
When the jaguar reserve was created, the Mopan Maya residents of the village of Quam
Bank, where the sanctuary's visitor centre now stands, were forcibly moved seven miles
east to the new community of MAYA CENTER on the Southern Highway. Previously
farmers, they've since been persuaded of the virtues of eco-tourism, and Maya Center
has become the place to pick up information, find accommodation or hire a guide
before you venture into the sanctuary itself.
All independent visitors should stop to pay the reserve admission fee of Bz$10 at the
roadside craft center (daily 7.30am-4.30pm), which is run by the village women's
group, and also sells inexpensive wood and slate carvings and embroidery. A grocery
store nearby sells basic supplies; nothing is available in the sanctuary.
Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary
6.6 miles west of Maya Center on the Southern Hwy, a total of 27 miles southwest of Dangriga, or 37 miles northwest of Placencia • Daily
8am-4.30pm • Bz$10 • T 666 3495, W belizeaudubon.org
Informally known throughout Belize as the Jaguar Reserve , the Cockscomb Basin
Wildlife Sanctuary covers an area of around 200 square miles. While that's not in itself
enough to support a healthy population of jaguars, it stands at the core of a much
larger wilderness corridor stretching all the way to Guatemala. Current estimates of the
THE FOREST OF THE COCKSCOMB
Technically, the verdant habitat preserved in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is a
tropical moist forest , made up of plant species including orchids, giant tree ferns, air plants
(epiphytes) and trees such as banak, cohune, mahogany and ceiba . An annual rainfall of up to
118 inches feeds a network of wonderfully clear streams.
A sizeable proportion of Belize's plant and animal species live here, with mammals including
tapirs, howler monkeys, otters, coatis, deer, anteaters, armadillos and, of course, jaguars, as well
as other cat species. Three hundred bird species have also been recorded, including
endangered scarlet macaws, great curassows, keel-billed toucans and king vultures, while it
serves as a refuge for large raptors like harpy, solitary and white hawk eagles. Reptiles and
amphibians abound, including red-eyed tree frogs, boa constrictors and the deadly
fer-de-lance snake, known in Belize as “yellow-jaw tommy-goff”.
 
 
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