2 Best Sights in The Cayo District, Belize

The Natural History Centre at The Lodge at Chaa Creek has displays on everything from butterflies to snakes (preserved in jars). Outside is a screened-in blue morpho butterfly-breeding center. You can see blue morphos up close here and even peer at their slumbering pupae, which resemble jade earrings. Once you're inside the double doors, the electric-blue beauties, which look boringly brown when their wings are closed, flit about or remain perfectly still, sometimes on your shoulder or head, and open and close their wings to a rhythm akin to inhaling and exhaling. A team of knowledgeable naturalists leads guided tours every hour as you learn about the \"Belizean Blue\" butterflies, Maya culture, and more. You can combine a visit here with one to the Belize Medicinal Plants Trail.

Besides thoughtful displays on the Cayo flora and fauna, Tropical Wings, a little nature center, raises about 20 species of butterfly including the blue morpho, owl, giant swallowtail, and monarch varieties. The facility, at The Trek Stop, also has a small restaurant and gift shop, along with cabins.