Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
fascinating Maya site of
Altun Ha
; and the
Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary
, with some
of the best birding in the country. Along the
Coastal Road
, which runs for around
35 miles from La Democracia to Dangriga, is tiny
Gales Point
, surrounded by richly
diverse wetlands.
1
Old Belize
Mile 5 George Price Hwy •
Museum and beach
Mon & Sun 10am-4pm, Tues-Sat 8am-4pm •
Restaurant
Daily 11am-10pm • Museum
Bz$10, beach Bz$30, zip line Bz$40 •
T
222 4129,
W
oldbelize.com
As you leave the city, you first pass through the Lord's Ridge cemetery, then skirt the
coastline, running behind a tangle of mangrove swamps and on to
Old Belize
, a
museum showcasing the history and cultures of the country. Old Belize
was created as
an interactive cultural overview of the country, targeted towards time-pressed cruise
ship passengers with half a day or so to spend in port. The museum holds some
interest, but it's the adjoining open-air
restaurant
(see below) and man-made beach
with water slide and zip line that has given the place its staying power on the tourist
circuit. That said, if you have anything more than a day in the Belize District, it's worth
going further afield to see the real deal - like a Maya site or the Belize Zoo.
The museum features videos on the country's varied ethnic groups and natural riches
and a series of rooms that each highlight a different era in the country's history. The
humid
rainforest room
contains a waterfall and a cage of fluttering Blue Morpho
butterflies, while a dimly lit
Maya village
is populated with life-sized stone carvings
and a replica wood-and-thatch home. Early industry also features, with a steam-
powered sugar mill, and
chicle
(the base ingredient of chewing gum) trade and logging.
A Garifuna dwelling has piped-in beats of traditional drumming, and you can also
walk along a re-created, early-twentieth-century Belize City street lined with wooden
homes. Old Belize is also good for one-stop
souvenir shopping
, with reasonably priced
wooden products, local hot sauces and topics on Belize. he restaurant's name,
TGI
Crazy Gringo
, gives a good indication of its angle: it's more about tropical cocktails
than authentic cuisine - burgers, nachos and chicken fingers figure prominently on the
menu - but it's fun for an hour or so.
Cucumber Beach and Marina
Though fairly small and fashioned out of reclaimed land,
Cucumber Beach
is well
groomed and faces the lagoon, with lots of water activities that are especially a hit with
youngsters and families. A huge waterslide, rising up 50ft from the beach, elicits
squeals of delight, as does the zip line that traverses the lagoon. Also here is the
Cucumber Beach Marina
, which draws both recreational and commercial boats.
Belize Zoo
Mile 29 George Price Hwy • Daily 8.30am-4.30pm; nocturnal tours daily 6pm • Bz$30 adult, $10 child; nocturnal tour Bz$30 (no entry fee)
•
T
220 8004,
W
belizezoo.org • Most Belmopan-bound buses from Belize City can drop you off outside the zoo
One of the finest zoos in the Americas south of the US, and long recognized as a
phenomenal conservation achievement, the
Belize Zoo
opened in 1983 after an
ambitious wildlife film (
Path of the Rain God
) left Sharon Matola, the film's production
assistant, with a collection of semi-tame animals no longer able to fend for themselves
in the wild. This now means the chance to see the native animals of Belize at close
quarters, housed in spacious enclosures that resemble their natural habitats. The zoo's
menagerie has never been supplemented by animals taken from the wild - all are either
donated or confiscated pets, injured wild animals, sent from other zoos (for its
internationally recognized captive breeding programmes) or residents since birth. And,
unless you're a seasoned wildlife photographer, this is likely to be the best place to get
excellent photographs of the animals of Belize.
