Northern Belize

Razzamatazz and bling are in short supply in northern Belize. Here you'll find more orange groves than beach bars, more sugarcane than sugary sand, and more farms than restaurants. Yet, if you're willing to give in to the area's easygoing terms and slow down to explore back roads and poke around small towns and villages, this northern country will win a place in your traveler's heart. You'll discover some of Belize's most interesting Mayan sites, several outstanding jungle lodges, and a sprinkling of small, inexpensive inns with big personalities.

Northern Belize includes the northern part of Belize District and all of Orange Walk and Corozal districts. All together, this area covers about 2,800 sq mi (7,250 sq km) and has a population of around 80,000. The landscape is mostly flat, with mangrove swamps on the coast giving way to savannah inland. Scrub bush is much more common than broadleaf jungle, although to the northwest near the Guatemala border are large, wild tracts of land with some of the world's few remaining old-growth mahogany trees. The region has many cattle ranches, citrus groves, sugarcane fields, and, in a few areas, marijuana fields.

The only sizable towns in the region are Orange Walk, about 53 mi (87 km) north of Belize City, with about 18,000 residents, and the slightly smaller Corozal, with a population around 9,000, 85 mi (139 km) north of Belize City. Both are on the Northern Highway, a paved two-lane road that runs 95 mi (156 km) from Belize City up the center of the region, ending at the Mexican border.

Northern Belize gets less rain than anywhere else in the country (roughly 50 inches annually in Corozal), a fact that's reflected in the sunny disposition of the local population, mostly Mayas and Mestizos. Both Orange Walk and Corozal towns have a Mexican ambience, with central plazas the focus of the downtown areas. Most locals speak Spanish as a first language, though many also know English. Offering little in the way of tourism facilities itself, Orange Walk Town is a jumping-off point for trips to Lamanai and other Mayan ruins, to Mennonite farmlands, and to several well-regarded jungle lodges in wild, remote areas. Corozal Town, next door to Chetumal, Mexico, is a place to slow down, relax, and enjoy the laid-back atmosphere of a charming small town on the beautiful Corozal Bay (or, as Mexico calls it, Chetumal Bay).

If you tire of small-town pleasures, the Belize side of the Mexican border has three casinos, including one called Las Vegas that claims to be the largest casino in Central America, and a duty-free zone. Corozal has begun to draw foreign expats looking for inexpensive real estate and proximity to Chetumal, the Quintana Roo Mexican state capital, whose population is about the same as the entire country of Belize. Sarteneja Village, in the far northeastern part of Corozal District, about 35 mi (57 km) from Corozal Town, is a still undiscovered fishing village at the edge of the sea, near the Shipstern Wildlife Reserve. On the way are several pristine lagoons, including the lovely Progresso Lagoon.

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