Lamanai Maya Site is located in Orange Walk district, northwest of Belize City, on the banks of the New River Lagoon and the most spectacular way to travel to the site is by means of river boat up the river. This boat ride is perfect for nature-lover’s seeking to see wildlife along the way. It’s heaven for numerous species of water birds that live along this rich and diverse waterway. You may even be lucky enough to view iguanas, bats and crocodiles. There are also interesting flora and fauna to be seen at the Lamanai reserve.

Lamanai is the Maya word for “submerged crocodile.” The site’s name – “Lamanay” or “Lamayna” was recorded by Franciscan missionaries in the 17th century. It is one of the only sites retaining its original name and is among one of Belize’s largest ceremonial centers. The name Lamanai helps to explain the numerous crocodile motifs at the site. Crocodile effigies appear on figurines, vessel decorations, and on the large headdress on a limestone mask at one of the principal structures at the site. It was inhabited until well after 1492, making it the longest-occupied Maya site in Belize.

Lamanai Maya Ruins And River Tour

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Altun Ha, one of Belize’s most excavated and restored locations making it a favorite for visitors wanting to experience a true sense of ancient Maya Civilization from centuries past. Its largest temple has made its way onto the face of the national currency, and on to the bottles of the country’s leading beer, Belikin.

Altun Ha was a very significant Mayan city in the Classic Period. Once home to as many as 10,000 inhabitants over a 1,000 year-long period of occupation dating back as early as 200 BC, it was occupied as recently as the 10th century. Altun Ha was a significant trading center as evidenced by the large amounts of jade and obsidian excavated here. Jewelry, flints and skins have been found here too so it seems the site was the perfect location for trading between the water of the Caribbean and the deep interior Mayan lands.

Altun Ha Maya Ruins Tour

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Cahal Pech is a Maya site located near the Town of San Ignacio in the Cayo District of Belize. The site was a hilltop palacio home for an elite Maya family, and though most major construction dates to the Classic period, evidence of continuous habitation has been dated to as far back as far as 1200 BCE during the Early Middle Formative period (Early Middle Preclassic), making Cahal Pech one of the oldest recognizably Maya sites in Western Belize. The site rests high near the banks of the Macal River and is strategically located to overlook the confluence of the Macal River and the Mopan River. The site is a collection of 34 structures, with the tallest temple being about 25 meters in height, situated around a central acropolis. The site was abandoned in the 9th century CE for unknown reasons.

The name Cahal Pech, meaning “Place of the Ticks”, was given when this site was fallow during the first archaeological studies in the 1950s, led by Linton Satterthwaite from the University of Pennsylvania Museum. It is now an archaeological reserve, and houses a small museum with artifacts from various ongoing excavations.

Cahal Pech And San Ignacio City Tour

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Cahal Pech And Xunantunich Maya Site Combo Tour

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This Mayan site is situated on the Western Highway across the river from the village of San Jose Succotz (8 mi from San-Igancio). A small, hand-cranked cable ferry will take you and your car across the Mopan River and, from there it’s less than a mile farther (up a steep road) to the site.

The name, according to one interpretation, means “Maiden of the Rock” in the Yucatec dialect. It is pronounced “zshoo-NAN-too-NEECH.” It was the first site in Belize to be opened to the public, when the road and a ferry were built in 1954.

What you will see today is a Classic period (300-900 AD) ceremonial center, with large plazas ringed with pyramids. The tallest is the 130 foot “El Castillo,” which is large by Mayan standards and is only exceeded by the Caana pyramid at Caracol. The site was occupied until around 900 A.D. and was likely abandoned after an earthquake, the evidence of which was discovered by archaeologists in the mid-1900’s.

Xunantunich Maya Site And San Ignacio City Tour

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Caracol is Belize’s largest man made structure to date. It is situated in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Cayo district, on a high Vaca Plateau of 1650 feet (500 m) above sea level (one of the highest located sites of the southern uplands region) with no natural water body close by. It remains a mystery why such a huge population center evolved where it is. However, the close proximity to both extremely hard stone and copal, two commodities highly prized by the Mayas may help explain this enigma.

The site was discovered in 1938 by a logger looking for mahogany. That same year Archaeological Commissioner A.H. Anderson visited the site and named it ‘Caracol’ (Spanish for ‘shell’ of ‘snail’). The original Mayan name is unknown.

NOTE: Be prepared for a 2:30 hour ride to Caracol, about half of which is on bumpy dirt roads. The ride is worth it when you arrive at Caracol, but be advised the site is not located off of a major highway road.

Caracol Maya Site Tour

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