Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
productive farmland in Belize, and this was also the case in Maya times; aerial surveys
in the late 1970s revealed evidence of raised fields and a network of irrigation canals ,
indicating that the Maya practised skilful, intensive agriculture. In the Postclassic era,
this region became part of the powerful Maya state of Chactemal (or Chetumal),
controlling the trade in cacao beans, which were used as currency and grown in the
valleys of the Hondo and New rivers. For a while the Maya here were even able to resist
the conquistadors, and long after nominal Spanish rule had been established in 1544,
there were frequent Maya rebellions: in 1638, for example, they drove the Spanish out
and burnt the church at Lamanai.
2
Lamanai
On the banks of New River Lagoon, in the village of Indian Church, 24 miles south of Orange Walk via the river • Daily 8am-5pm • Bz$20,
includes museum entry • W nichebelize.com
Lamanai is undoubtedly the most impressive Maya site in northern Belize, thanks
to extensive restoration of the ancient structures and a well-curated museum. It's
one of only a few sites whose original Maya name - Lama'an ayin - is known; it
translates to “submerged crocodile”, which explains the numerous representations
of crocodiles among the ruins. “Lamanai”, however, is a seventeenth-century
mistransliteration that actually means “drowned insect”. The site was continuously
occupied from around 1500 BC until the sixteenth century, when Spanish
missionaries built a church next door to lure the Indians from their “heathen”
ways. By far the most memorable way to journey to Lamanai is along the New
River, and a number of Orange Walk operators organize day-trips (see p.76).
River trips include wildlife-spotting along the way, and you may see lurking
crocodiles, iguanas, bats and dozens of species of birds. The boats also float past
the only operating sugar mill in the country.
The site
Lamanai's setting on the shore of the New River Lagoon, in an isolated swath of
jungle protected as an archeological reserve, gives it a special serenity long gone
from sites served by the torrent of tourist buses - though increasing numbers of
speedboats now carry cruise ship visitors here. Over a dozen troops of black howler
monkeys make Lamanai their home, and you'll certainly see them peering down
through the branches as you wander the trails; mosquitoes too, are ever-present, so
you'll need to be armed with a good repellent.
The most impressive feature at Lamanai, prosaically named N10-43 (informally
called the “High Temple”, or “El Castillo”, the castle), is a massive, Late Preclassic
temple , towering 115ft above the forest floor. When it was first built around 100
BC, it was the largest structure in the entire Maya world, though one which was
extensively modified later. The view over the surrounding forest and along the
lagoon from the top of the temple is magnificent and well worth the daunting
climb. On the way to the High Temple you pass N10-27, a much smaller pyramid,
at the base of which stands a fibreglass replica of Stela 9 , which bears some of the
best-preserved carvings at Lamanai. Dated to 625 AD, it shows the magnificently
attired Lord Smoking Shell participating in a ceremony - probably his accession.
This glyph has become emblematic of Lamanai and features on many of the T-shirts
on sale here. North of the High Temple, structure N9-56 is a sixth-century pyramid
with two stucco masks of a glorified ruler, represented as a deity (probably Kinich
Ahau, the sun god), carved on different levels. The lower mask, 13ft high, has
survived especially well, and shows a clearly humanized face wearing a crocodile
headdress and bordered by decorative columns. The temple overlies several smaller
buildings, the oldest of which is a superbly preserved temple from around 100 BC,
and there are a number of other clearly defined glyphs throughout.
 
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