Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and watershed ecology, the sanctuary is open to independent visitors and is a
wonderfully relaxing
place to stay
for a day or two (see below).
Monkey Bay is also the contact point for visits to
Cox Lagoon Crocodile Sanctuary
, a
70-square-mile private wetland reserve north of the highway in the Mussel Creek
watershed. Home to over one hundred Morelet's crocodiles, it also hosts numerous
other reptiles, jabiru storks, howler monkeys and jaguars. Visitors can camp, canoe,
hike and fish, and all trips can be arranged with the Monkey Bay staff.
1
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
MONKEY BAY WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
Cheers
Mile 31¼ George Price Hwy
T
822 8014,
W
cheersrestaurant.bz.
Set back 100yd from the roadside,
this breezy restaurant serves a varied menu, from hearty
breakfasts to quesadillas to grilled chicken with rice and
beans (mains Bz$10-20). It's a perfect spot to refuel while
trundling down the highway, and if you'd like to take a
longer rest
, consi
der staying in one of the well-kept
cabañas
Price Hwy
T
822 8032,
W
belizestudyabroad.net.
The
sanctuary offers varied accommodation, including
camping on raised platforms under thatched roofs, dorms,
private rooms and a spacious mountain-view cabin. The
field station is also a viable exponent of sustainable living,
utilizing solar and wind power and rainwater catchment.
Delicious, healthy food is served on request, some of it
grown in the station's organic gardens; note that they also
have
excellen
t vege
tarian
and ve
gan op
tions.
Camping
US$9
, dorms
US$20
, rooms
US$30
, cabin
US$50
(
US$55
).
Mon-Sat
6am-8.30pm,
Sun
7am-7.30pm.
Monkey Bay
Wildlife Sanctuary
Mile 31½ George
Burrell Boom
The tiny, historical community of
BURRELL BOOM
, on the Belize River, is about twenty
miles northwest of Belize City, and is reached down the Philip Goldson turn-off to
Bermudian Landing. In logging days, a huge, heavy, metal chain called a “boom” was
stretched across the river to catch the logs floating down. Burrell Boom is a pleasant
base for exploring the area, and the river is never far from view. The primary sight is the
nearby Community Baboon Sanctuary (see below).
The Community Baboon Sanctuary
Near Bermudian Landing, 7 miles west of Burrell Boom • Visitor centre: daily 8am-5pm • Bz$14 (includes guided trail walk) •
T
220 2181,
W
howlermonkeys.org
he
Community Baboon Sanctuary
, established in 1985 by primate biologist Rob
Horwich and a group of local farmers (with help from the Worldwide Fund for
Nature), is one of the most interesting conservation projects in Belize. A mixture of
farmland and broadleaf forest, the sanctuary stretches along nineteen miles of the
Belize River valley - from Flowers Bank to Big Falls - and comprises a total of eight
villages and over 250 landowners. Farmers here voluntarily harmonize their own needs
with those of the wildlife in a project combining conservation, education and tourism;
visitors are welcome and you'll find plenty of places to rent canoes or horses. The tiny
visitor centre
, in the middle of the sanctuary, features exhibits and information on the
riverside habitats and animals, and a library.
The main focus is the
black howler monkey
(locally known as a “baboon”), the largest
monkey in the New World and an endangered subspecies of howler that exists only in
Belize, Guatemala and southern Mexico. They generally live in troops of between four
and eight, and spend the day clambering through the leafy canopy, feasting on leaves,
flowers and fruits. You're pretty much guaranteed to see them up close, feeding and
resting in the trees along the riverbank, and they're often as interested in you as you are
in them. At dawn and dusk they let rip with their famous howl, a deep and rasping
roar that carries for miles.
The sanctuary is also home to around two hundred
bird
species, plus anteaters, deer,
peccaries, coatis, iguanas and the endangered Central American river turtle. Special trails
are cut through the forest so that visitors can see it at its best; you can wander these alone
or with a guide, and canoe or horseback tours in the sanctuary are also possibilities.
