94 Best Sights in Belize

Belize's easternmost island offers one of Belize's greatest wildlife encounters, although it's difficult to reach and lacks accommodations other than camping. Part of the Lighthouse Reef system, Half Moon Caye owes its protected status to the presence of the red-footed booby. The bird is here in such numbers that it's hard to believe it has only one other nesting ground in the entire Caribbean (on Tobago Island, off the coast of Venezuela). Thousands of these birds hang their hats on Half Moon Caye, along with iguanas, lizards, and loggerhead turtles. The entire 40-acre island is a nature reserve, so you can explore the beaches or head into the bush on the narrow nature trail. Above the trees at the island's center is a small viewing platform—at the top you're suddenly in a sea of birds that will doubtless remind you of a certain Alfred Hitchcock movie. Several dive operators and resorts arrange day trips and overnight camping trips to Half Moon Caye. Managed by the Belize Audubon Society, the park fee here is a steep BZ$80 per person.

The best diving on Lighthouse Reef is at Half Moon Caye Wall, a classic wall dive. Half Moon Caye begins at 35 feet and drops almost vertically to blue infinity. Floating out over the edge is a bit like free-fall parachuting. Magnificent spurs of coral jut out to the seaward side, looking like small tunnels; they're fascinating to explore and invariably full of fish. An exceptionally varied marine life hovers around this caye. On the gently sloping sand flats behind the coral spurs, a vast colony of garden eels stirs, their heads protruding from the sand like periscopes. Spotted eagle rays, sea turtles, and other underwater wonders frequent the drop-off.

Five miles of golden sand stretch north and south of Hopkins. The in-town sector of beach has a local vibe; the resorts south of the village populate that strand of sand with more international tourists. The water has less sea grass than other mainland beaches, making Hopkins Beach better and cleaner for swimming. The barrier reef lies only 8 to 10 miles (13 to 16 km) out, meaning you don’t have to boat out so far to find good snorkeling. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); toilets; water sports. Best for: partiers; snorkeling; solitude; sunrise; swimming; walking.

One of the most scenic roadways in Belize, the Hummingbird Highway, a paved two-lane road, runs 54.5 miles (91 km) from the junction of the George Price Highway (formerly Western Highway) at Belmopan to Dangriga. Technically, only the first 32 miles (53 km) is the Hummingbird—the rest is the Stann Creek District Highway, but most people ignore that distinction and call it all the Hummingbird. As measured from Belmopan at the junction of the George Price Highway, the Hummingbird first winds through limestone hill country, passing St. Herman's Cave (Mile 12.2) and the inland Blue Hole (Mile 13.1). It then starts rising steeply, with the Maya Mountains on the west or right side, past St. Margaret's Village and Five Blues Lake (Mile 23). The views, of green mountains studded with cohune palms and tropical hardwoods, are incredible. At the Hummingbird Gap (Mile 26, elevation near 1,000 feet, with mountains nearby over 3,000 feet), you're at the crest of the highway and now begin to drop down toward the Caribbean Sea. At Middlesex Village (Mile 32), technically the road becomes the Stann Creek District Highway and you're in Stann Creek District. Now you're in citrus country, with groves of grapefruit and Valencia oranges. Near Steadfast Village (watch for signs around Mile 37) there's the 1,600-acre Billy Barquedier National Park, where you can hike to waterfalls. At Mile 48.7 you pass the turn-off to the Southern Highway, and at Mile 54.5 you enter Dangriga, with the sea just ahead.

If driving, keep a watch for "sleeping policemen," speed bumps to slow traffic near villages. Most are signed, but a few are not. Also, gas up in Belmopan, as there are few service stations until you approach Dangriga.

This small museum—the name refers to the little benches in a nearby riverside park—presents changing exhibitions on Orange Walk District's history and culture. Among the permanent displays are artifacts from Lamanai and Cuello. Las Banquitas is one of five House of Culture museums; the other four are in Belize City, Corozal Town, Benque Viejo, and Santa Elena, though the Belize City one rarely accepts visitors and is used for events. These museums are operated by NICH, the National Institute of Culture and History.

This superb little national park lies off the coast of the Placencia Peninsula, and its boosters insist that it, not Belize’s northern cayes, has the best beach in the country. The atoll takes its name from the laughing gull (Larus articilla), which used to nest extensively here. Visitation by humans has pushed the gulls’ nesting to other nearby islets, but you’ll still see the birds in abundance here, as well as green herons and brown pelicans. Local boaters in Placencia Village can take you to the park for BZ$80 to BZ$200 round-trip. The Friends of Laughing Bird Caye, the park’s private administrators, can also help you get here.

You can watch young Garifuna boys hone their drumming skills at the Lebeha Drumming Center. Lebeha means "the end" in the Garifuna language, a reference to the school's location at the north end of the village. The drums are of mahogany or mayflower wood, with deerskin on the drumhead. Other instruments include shakas, or shakers, calabash gourds filled with fruit seeds and turtle shells. The drumming goes on nightly, though most activity is on weekends. Donations are accepted. You can take drumming lessons and purchase a CD of Lebeha drumming.

This is an exciting wall at Glover's Atoll; between its bright coral and dramatic drop-off hundreds of feet down, diving it truly feels like extraterrestrial exploration. It's a good place to spot turtles, rays, and barracuda.

This reserve is a highlight of any journey to Belize and an adventure to explore, although the scenery may remind you more of the piney woods of the far southern Appalachians than of tropical jungle. The Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve is in the high country of Belize—low mountains and rolling hills are covered in part by vast pine forests and crisscrossed with old logging roads. Waterfalls and streams abound, and there are accessible caves, such as Rio Frio. The higher elevations, up to near 3,400 feet, provide cooler temperatures and outstanding views. The best way to see this area, which covers more than 106,000 acres, is on a mountain bike, a horse, or your own feet. It's also not a bad ride in an SUV, which you'll need to get you through the Pine Ridge to the Chiquibul wilderness and the magnificent ruins of Caracol. Aside from the Honduras pines, 80% of which were damaged in recent years by the southern pine beetle but are now recovering, you'll see lilac-color mimosa, Saint-John's-wort, and occasionally a garish red flower appropriately known as hotlips. Look for the craboo, a wild tree whose berries are used in a brandy-like liqueur believed to have aphrodisiac properties (the fruit ripens June through August). Birds love this fruit, so any craboo is a good place to spot orioles and woodpeckers. You may not see them, but the Pine Ridge is home to many of Belize's large mammals, including tapirs, cougars, jaguars, and ocelots, and in the streams are a few Morelet's crocodiles.

Don’t come here for an hour, come for the day—and bring friends. Picture paradise with an immaculate beach, “VIP” daybeds for rent, and a bustling restaurant perched over the lagoon. It gets a lot of talk (and mixed reviews) for good reason: It’s not the Caye Caulker most tourists know, but it’s a Caye Caulker you might love. Every half hour, a five-minute ferry ride takes visitors up to the property north of the Split, where you can lounge on the private beach until the stars come out. Spend BZ$50 per person and the ferry is free. Spending is easy, as the restaurant has fairly high prices. Being on the lagoon side, the placid water is a draw for families. To many, Northside Beach Club is more San Pedro than Caye Caulker (developed and resort-ish), which has ruffled some feathers. But there’s no denying it’s a gorgeous place to pass a day. Amenities: daybeds, restaurant, private beach. Best for: relaxing, dining and having a few tropical drinks.  

Many of the visitors here are on cruise-ship excursions, but you can also visit Old Belize on your own (it's a BZ$30 taxi ride each way from downtown Belize City). A 15-minute train ride takes you through exhibits devoted to the rain forest and the Maya and Garifuna cultures, as well as displays on logging, chicle harvesting, and sugar production. Also at the site are a large marina; a restaurant and bar where you can get a decent hamburger and other American-style dishes; a gift shop; and Kukumba Beach, a small artificial beach with an 80-foot waterslide.

One of the most unusual and least-known attractions in Belize, Poustinia Land Art Park is a collection of about 30 original works by artists from a dozen countries, including Belize, Norway, Guyana, Brazil, Guatemala, and England, scattered about some 60 acres of a former cattle ranch. It's owned by an architect, who calls Poustinia an "environmental project." Among the works of outdoor art, which some would call funky and others fascinating, are Downtown, by Venezuelan artist Manuel Piney, and Returned Parquet, a reference to Belize's colonial history in mahogany parquet flooring by Tim Davies, a British artist. Nature is taking over the artworks, which apparently is part of the plan. Getting around the park, which is open by appointment only, requires sometimes strenuous hiking; bring insect repellent and lots of water. Make arrangements to visit the park and for a tour guide at the Benque House of Culture in Benque Viejo.

Destination signs with big concrete block letters have become all the rage in Belize. PG has been bidding its visitors Welcome to Punta Gorda, Toledo District since long before anyone conceived of the block-letter concept. A colorful, flat, 10-sided sign with illustrations of seven people who represent Punta Gorda's (and Belize's) multicultural population sits at the north entrance to town. Posting a pic on social media of you and your traveling companions in front of the sign might elicit a "Huh? Where? Isn't Punta Gorda near Fort Myers in Florida?" query from your followers. Let them know you're not in Florida anymore. 

This tiny national park (500 acres) has a big waterfall—the Rio Blanco, which splashes over rough limestone boulders into a deep pool; you can jump into it for a refreshing swim. The waterfall can be reached via a well-marked hiking trail. Upstream a short distance from the falls is a nice area for a picnic, shaded by trees and flowering bushes. The park is managed by residents of nearby Maya villages including Santa Elena, Santa Cruz, Golden Stream, and Pueblo Viejo. You can visit on your own, though Punta Gorda tour operators include Rio Blanco in their offerings.

Managed by Belize City–based Programme for Belize, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is the wise use and conservation of Belize's natural resources, the Río Bravo Conservation Area contains nearly 400 species of birds, 70 species of mammals, and 200 types of trees. About one-half of Río Bravo is managed as a nature reserve, and the rest is managed to generate income, from forestry and other activities, including tourism. Programme for Belize is actively involved in research and conservation programs to protect endangered species including the yellow-headed parrot.

Within the reserve's borders are more than 60 Maya sites; many have yet to be explored. The most important is La Milpa, Belize's largest site beside Caracol and Lamanai. At its height between AD 400 and 830, La Milpa was home to almost 50,000 people. The suburbs of this city spread out some 3 miles (5 km) from the city center, and the entire city encompassed some 30 square miles (78 square km) in area. So far, archaeologists have discovered 20 large courtyards and 19 stelae.

Visiting Río Bravo, like the other areas of northwestern Orange Walk, is best done in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. You must make arrangements to visit in advance with Programme for Belize, as the entire Río Bravo Conservation Area is managed by this private, nonprofit organization, and the main road through its lands is gated. You also need advance reservations to stay at La Milpa Field Station. Staying overnight or longer at this field station is the best way to see Río Bravo, but you can visit it briefly on a day-trip. Another field station, at Hill Bank, primarily serves as a research base for sustainable forest management but visitors with an interest in forest research can be accommodated in two cabanas and a dorm that sleeps six. Contact Programme for Belize for information.

Guides and information are available at La Milpa Field Station. Chan Chich Lodge, Lamanai Outpost Lodge, and other hotels also can arrange visits with guides to La Milpa and the Río Bravo Conservation and Management Area.

These caves are only a few miles by car down a steep track, but ecologically speaking, they are in a different world. In the course of a few hundred yards, you drop from pine savanna to tropical forest. Few other places in Belize illustrate its extraordinary geological diversity as clearly as this startling transition. A river runs right through the center of the main cave—actually it's more of a tunnel, open at both ends—and, over the centuries, has carved the rock into fantastic shapes. Swallows fill the place, and at night ocelots and margays pad silently across the cold floor in search of slumbering prey. Seen from the dark interior, the light-filled world outside seems more intense and beautiful than ever. About a mile (2 km) away are the Cuevas Gemelas (Twin Caves), best seen with a guide. Due to occasional bandit activity in the area, at times a Belize Defence Forces escort is required to visit the Rio Frio Caves—if driving on your own, ask at your hotel or at the Douglas Da Silva forestry station, where private vehicles meet up with a Defence Force escort.

You could find yourself in this Kek’chi Maya village of 400 people if you book one of the area homestays with the Toledo Ecotourism Association (T.E.A.). Residents here are accustomed to visitors and actively participate in their programs. St. Michael is the patron of the town; his statue stands guard over the altar in the parish church. The aroma of homemade tortillas wafts from homes as you walk down the street. The Rio Grande becomes a veritable beehive of community activity on laundry day.

Belize's largest Kek'chi Maya community is the village of San Pedro Columbia (population 700). It's a cheerful cluster of brightly painted buildings and thatch houses off the San Antonio Road. Several local women sell hand-woven embroidery.

The Maya site of Lubaantun is two miles away.

The unusual facade of the local Catholic church is made up of stones said to be taken from Lubaantun.

A small but wonderful cultural center, the House of Culture celebrates the fascinating history and diversity of San Pedro. Past exhibits have explored Garifuna Settlement Day and the village's lobster industry. Be warned: opening hours are erratic. 

Not far from Corozal are several Maya sites. The closest, Santa Rita, is a short walk or drive from the town center. It's on a low hill across from the Coca-Cola plant near Corozal Hospital at the north end of town. Only one large temple building has been excavated. The government of Belize designated Santa Rita as an official "Wedding Garden of Belize," and a number of mostly Belizean weddings have been held there. Although there isn't a visitor center yet, a caretaker/guide will show you around and collect the admission fee.

One of the wildest and most remote areas of Belize is the Sarstoon-Temash National Park, between the Temash and Sarstoon Rivers in the far south of Toledo District on the border of Guatemala. Red mangroves grow along the river banks; animals and birds rarely seen in other parts of Belize, including white-faced capuchin monkeys, can be spotted here, along with jaguars (if you're lucky), ocelots, and tapirs, along with more than 200 species of birds. The only way to see this 42,000-acre area is with a guide by boat. Contact the Sarstoon-Temash Institute for Indigenous Management (SATIIM), which manages the park in conjunction with the Belize Forestry Department, for a guide, or check with the BTIA office on Front Street in Punta Gorda, home to the Toledo Tour Guide Association. SATIIM, among other things, is involved in efforts to oppose oil and gas exploration in the Sarstoon-Temash.

The park has been a flashpoint in Guatemala's long-standing claims to Belizean territory, most recently in spring 2019. Check with the institute for developments, although the dispute should not affect you as a visitor.

One of Belize’s most offbeat sights are these ruins of a 19th-century sugar mill, now eerily engulfed by the jungle over a century after its abandonment. Sugar once fueled the economy of this region, and American Southerners fleeing the defeated Confederacy established the Serpon Plantation after the Civil War. At its peak, the steam-powered mill produced 1,700 pounds of sugar a month. By the early 20th century, mills in northern Belize were able to harvest and generate sugar more efficiently, and Serpon ceased operation. You’d think the heat and humidity would have taken their toll, but the cast-iron equipment remains remarkably well preserved with little rust. You can visit the site on your own—it’s a tad hard to find—and hire a guide at the small information center at the entrance. Hopkins and Placencia tour operators can also arrange visits.

About 3½ miles (6 km) west of Sarteneja on the road to Orange Walk or Corozal is the Shipstern Nature Reserve; this is the driest place in Belize and best visited January through April. You pass the entrance and visitor center as you come into Sarteneja. The 31 square miles (81 square km) of tropical forest forming the reserve are, like the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, a paradise for birders. Shipstern is managed by the Corozal Sustainable Future Initiative (CSFI), an NGO. More than 300 species of birds have been identified here. Look for egrets (there are 13 species), American coots, keel-billed toucans, flycatchers, warblers, and several species of parrots. Mammals are in healthy supply as well, including tapirs, pumas, and jaguars. The former butterfly farm next to the visitor center is now a small education area, and butterflies are being repopulated; don't apply bug spray if you are entering the butterfly enclosure. There is a botanical trail leading from the visitor center, with the names of many plants and trees identified on small signs. Admission, a visit to the butterfly center, and a guided tour of the botanical trail is BZ$10 per person. Other tours are available, including one to the lagoon at Xo-Pol (BZ$150 per person) to see birds and crocodiles; stop at the Shipstern visitor center for more information. Bring plenty of bug juice.

Although you can stay and eat in Sarteneja village, Shipstern offers basic cabin accommodations or a budget; meals are an added daily cost.

One of the most beautiful lagoons in Belize, Southern Lagoon is about 25 miles (41 km) north of Dangriga—a 45-minute car ride. This lagoon is home to many West Indian manatees, and on beaches nearby, hawksbill turtles nest May to October. The Northern and Western Lagoons also are in this area.

Southwest Caye Wall is an underwater cliff that falls quickly to 130 feet. It's briefly interrupted by a narrow shelf, then continues its near-vertical descent to 350 feet. This dive gives you the exhilaration of flying in blue space, so it's easy to lose track of how deep you are going. Both ascent and descent require careful monitoring.

The hilltop community of Spanish Lookout, population 3,000, about 5 miles (8 km) north of the George Price Highway, is one of the centers of Belize's 11,000-strong Mennonite community, of which nearly 3,000 are in Cayo District. The easiest access to Spanish Lookout is via the paved Route 30 at Mile 57.5 of the Price Highway. The village's blond-haired, fair-skinned residents may seem out of place in this tropical country, but they're responsible for much of the construction, manufacturing, and agriculture in Belize. They built many of Belize's resorts, and most of the chickens, eggs, cheese, and milk you'll consume during your stay come from their farms. Many of the small wooden houses that you see all over Belize are Mennonite prefabs built in Spanish Lookout. In Belize's conservative Mennonite communities, women dress in cotton frocks and head scarves, and the men don straw hats, suspenders, and dark trousers. Some still travel in horse-drawn buggies. However, most Mennonites around Spanish Lookout have embraced pickup trucks and modern farming equipment. The cafés and small shopping centers in Spanish Lookout offer a unique opportunity to mingle with these sometimes world-wary people, but they don't appreciate being gawked at or photographed any more than you do. Stores in Spanish Lookout are modern and well-stocked, the farms wouldn't look out of place in the U.S. Midwest, and many of the roads are paved (the Mennonites do their own road paving). Oil in commercial quantities was discovered in Spanish Lookout in 2005, and several wells are still pumping, although the amount of oil pumped has diminished in recent years.

Less than a half hour south of Belmopan, the 575-acre St. Herman's Blue Hole National Park has a natural turquoise pool surrounded by mosses and lush vegetation, wonderful for a cool dip. The "inland Blue Hole" is about a 45-minute hike from the entrance, and is part of an underground river system. On the other side of the hill is St. Herman's Cave, once inhabited by the Maya. There's a separate entrance to St. Herman's. A path leads up from the highway, but it's quite steep and difficult to climb unless the ground is dry. To explore St. Herman's cave beyond the first 300 yards or so, you must be accompanied by a guide (available at the park), and no more than five people can enter the cave at one time. With a guide, you also can explore part of another cave system here, the Crystal Cave (sometimes called the Crystalline Cave), which stretches for miles; the additional cost is BZ$20 per person for a two-hour guided tour. The main park visitor center is 12½ miles (20.5 km) from Belmopan. The park is managed by the Belize Audubon Society, which administers a network of seven protected areas around the country.

Catholics make up a plurality of Belize's population at large, but they command a majority in this region, with Maya and Garifuna elements incorporated into the liturgy. Punta Gorda's Catholic church may not be architecturally distinctive, but it is notable for its masses in the Garifuna language the second Sunday of each month and in the Mayan language the fourth Sunday of the month. The Jesuit priests here also provide outreach to 36 area Maya and Garifuna communities that lack their own churches. St. Peter Claver, the church's patron, was a 17th century Spanish missionary who advocated tirelessly for the rights of indigenous peoples in the New World.

Punta rocker and internationally known Garifuna artist Pen Cayetano displays his bold, colorful paintings at his studio and gallery at his home in Dangriga. Works by his wife, Ingrid, and daughter, Mali, are also displayed. The house, built around 1900 and totally redone by Cayetano, including painted murals on the exterior walls, is one of the most interesting old buildings in Dangriga. You'll find a shop with souvenirs for sale.

As its name suggests, the bridge spanning Haulover Creek in the middle of Belize City actually swings. When needed to allow a boat through or by special request of visiting dignitaries, four men hand-winch the bridge a quarter-revolution so waiting boats can continue upstream. (When it was the only bridge in town, this snarled traffic for blocks; the opening of three other upstream bridges has eased that pressure.) The bridge, made in England, opened in 1923; it was renovated and upgraded in 1999. Outsiders' recommendations to automate the swing mechanics or—heaven forbid—rebuild the bridge entirely are always immediately rejected. No one wants to eliminate the city’s most unusual landmark. Before the Swing Bridge arrived, cattle were "hauled over" the creek in a barge. The bridge appears in a scene of a little-remembered 1980 movie The Dogs of War, set in a fictitious African country but mostly filmed in Belize.