Best Mayan ruins in Belize
Walk in the steps of the ancient Maya
Most people think of Mexico or Guatemala when they think of the Maya realm. However, the best Mayan ruins in Belize are just as impressive and have some unique features. If the history of the Maya people interests you, this is the perfect itinerary! You’ll travel throughout Belize, from mountains and rivers to the Caribbean sea, hike through jungles, and boat up rivers to get to the best sites out there.
These abandoned cities were once thriving, bustling societies. Today, the hustle and bustle is gone, but the buildings still remain, albeit a little worn down. You’ll walk in the steps of the ancient Maya people, admire their handiwork, and examine the artifacts they left behind. From beautifully carved stelae to massive masks adorning temple walls, this journey through Belize will give you a whole new perspective on the ancient Maya world.
Lamanai
Where Maya giants roamed
Cahal Pech
A window into Maya life
Xunantunich
Unravel the secrets of the Maya
Cerros Mayas
Where the jungle meets the sea
Highlights
It’s hard to choose just one Mayan city to visit, so let’s visit them all! On this trip, you’ll see the best Mayan ruins in Belize, so get ready for a leap back through time. We’ll start with Xunantunich and Cahal Pech, where you can visit El Castillo and admire the friezes. Then it’s off to El Caracol with its famous Sky Temple.
You’ll visit Lamanai, with its stone masks, Santa Rosa and Cerros, two important trade cities, as well as the famous Mayan ruins of Altun-Ha, Lubaantun, and Nim Li Punit. When you return home, you’ll do so knowing you saw all the biggest and best Mayan ruins in Belize. Take a stroll through history and we’ll guide you every step of the way.
Itinerary
Our driver will meet you upon arrival in Belize City International Airport and take you to your hotel in San Ignacio, or a jungle lodge located on the west bank of the Macal River. San Ignacio is an ideal base, as it’s close to several Mayan sites. This pleasant town is connected to its sister town, Santa Elena, by the country’s only drivable suspension bridge.
- Three nights in San Ignacio or in the Cayo District area.
After a nice breakfast, we’ll head to the nearby ruins of Xunantunich, a Mayan city atop a ridge overlooking the Mopan River. It was a strategic location for what was once one of the biggest ceremonial centers in the country. It covers about one square mile, which includes six plazas and over 26 structures, including temples and palaces.
The name Xunantunich means Maiden of the Rock. El Castillo is the second-tallest man-made building in Belize, standing tall at 130 feet. It’s heavily decorated with stucco friezes and symbols, such as the Maya tree of life.
Cahal Pech, or the Place of the Ticks, is our next stop. It’s also built atop a hill and was originally a beautiful residence for a rich Mayan family around 1200 BCE. As one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in Belize, Cahal Pech later became a thriving city during 600-800 AD.
Here, you’ll find around 35 structures, including ball courts, residences, temples, and palaces. It’s amazing to walk through the city and step where ancient Maya people once walked and lived.
After you’ve explored both ruins, we’ll return to the hotel where you can relax for the evening.
You can’t visit Mayan ruins in Belize without seeing Caracol. This massive site covers roughly 77 square miles (larger than Belize City) and was once home to over 150,000 inhabitants. Caracol (Snail) is so named for the winding access road that takes you deep into the jungle.
Caracol is home to over 35,000 structures, and not everything has been uncovered yet. Here, you’ll find a remarkably advanced observatory, reservoirs, plazas, pyramids, and ball courts. The vast number of stelae and carved altars provides a wealth of information about the Mayan lifestyle through their carvings, but the over 250 burial sites on the grounds also helped archeologists learn more about the city.
You’ll want to take your time walking this city. In its time, Caracol defeated both Tikal and Naranjo, both powerful Maan cities. Today, all that’s left are the stone remains of the buildings and causeways that were once used by a multitude of people. From the tallest manmade structure in Belize, Caana, which stands at 141 feet tall, to the fascinating stelae, history comes alive here.
We’ll leave San Ignacio after breakfast and travel to Lamanai. To reach the site, we take a boat 26 miles up the New River. Along the way, you’ll see plenty of local birds, as well as some wildlife. This area is protected, and many animals make the jungle and river their home, including tapirs, howler monkeys, and jaguars.
Lamanai is best known for its Mask Temple. Built somewhere between 550 and 650 AD, this temple features huge stone masks, including a human head with a crocodile headdress. You’ll also want to check out the Jaguar Temple, which stands at 65 feet high and features a jaguar mask on the outer walls. Finally, we have the High Temple, the largest Preclassic building in Belize. From the top of the 108-foot temple, you can see into Mexico and Guatemala.
Finally, we’ll head to the jungle lodge where you can rest up after a long day of travel and exploration.
- Two nights in Lamanai or in the districts of Belize and Corozal.
Ready for more exploring? We’ll visit Santa Rita today, once used as a port city as it sits near Chetumal Bay, by the mouths of Rio Hondo and New River. It’s also one of the few Mayan sites where Swasey pottery has been found, indicating that this site was inhabited since around 1000 BC.
As an important trading port, the city of Santa Rita thrived on both trade and agriculture. However, it’s particularly notable for the fact that it survived the collapse of Mayan society. In fact, Santa Rita was still going strong when the Spanish began to settle the area. Sadly, when newer buildings were being constructed, people took the older stones from the ruins. As a result, very few original architectural structures remain, apart from one building with a ceremonial chamber and two burial chambers.
Next, we’ll move on to Cerros, a city built on a peninsula at the mouth of New River on Corozal Bay. With such a strategic position, Cerros was perfectly positioned for trade and grew rapidly, though it was still fairly small at its peak, with around 1,500 residents. Despite its relatively small size, the city features raised fields, an acropolis complex, plazas and temples, stepped pyramids, and ball courts. Interestingly, it also contains a rather extensive system of canals to keep the raised fields watered.
Enjoy your evening, because you have even more Mayan history coming at you in the morning.
Altun-ha is our destination today, on the way to Placencia. We’ll leave early enough that you’ll have plenty of time in this ruined city. While it’s around 25 square miles, much of the site is still hidden in the jungle. You can visit the areas already excavated, though, which include the Temple of the Masonry Altars. This 52-foot temple is used on the logo of the famous Belizean beer, Belikin.
During its peak between 400-900 AD, Altun-ha was an important trading center, linking coastal routes with inland cities. It was also a ceremonial center, as evidenced by the architecture and artifacts found during excavation. It’s the home of the largest single piece of carved jade in Mesoamerica, a beautiful jade head found in the main temple. It was one of many pieces of carved jade and jewelry used in rituals here.
After you’ve had your fill of the ancient city, we’ll drive to Placencia, a laid-back town at the end of a 16-mile peninsula. With the Caribbean on one side and mangroves on the other, the town is quite interesting. You can enjoy spending your free time sipping a beer on a patio overlooking the sea or relaxing on the white sand beach.
- Two nights in Placencia.
This morning, we leave Placencia for a while and travel to Nim Li Punit, in a beautiful tropical valley. The name Nim Li Punit means “Big Hat” in the native Maya language and comes from the stunning headdress worn by a ruler on a carved stelae located at the site.
The city is built around three main plazas, each with its own structures. Step pyramids and palaces are some of the more impressive buildings you’ll see, but the ball court is not to be missed, either. The Plaza of the Stelae is believed to have served as a type of observatory, with the different alignments marking solstices and equinoxes. Nim Li Punit features 26 stelae, carved with scenes from the past. The second-tallest stelae in the Mayan world is Stela 14, which stands 33 feet tall.
Not far away is the city of Lubaantun, or the Place of Fallen Stones. This town was built on a hill that the Maya people leveled off to create the perfect vantage point for their homes. Two rivers run around the base of the hill, so the city was ideally situated to manage inland trade routes.
Lubaantun wasn’t occupied for long, just 150 years before it was abandoned. However, that was long enough to make an impact and leave a stunning legacy. The architecture here involves the use of black slate stone to create buildings without mortar. The architects also used terracing and retaining walls to create the levels they wanted.
In addition to the unique buildings, Lubaantun is known for its miniature ceramics. The items were found throughout the area and are believed to be ritual items or charms. You’ll get a chance to see some of the artifacts discovered during excavations, including jade, obsidian, and ceramic items.
Finally, we’ll return to Placencia for a well-deserved rest.
Your Belize vacation has come to an end. You’ve seen some of the best Mayan ruins in Belize, and hopefully you’ve enjoyed every second of this trip. Our driver will drop you off at the airport, and you’ll catch your domestic flight to Belize City International airport for your return flight.
map, expenses & price
Best Mayan Ruins in Belize
Expenses included:
-All private transportation.
-Seven nights of hotel accommodations.
-Domestic flights.
-Professional certified guides.
-All park entrance fees.
-Tours as listed.
-Daily breakfasts.
Extensions
add-on
If you aren’t finished exploring the Mayan world, it’s time to head to Guatemala, where ruins abound. We’ll start with one of the most famous Mayan ruins in the world, Tikal. This city stands in the Tikal National Park, which is part of the Maya Biosphere Reserve that stretches up into Mexico.
In its time, Tikal was one of the most powerful and populous cities in the Maya civilization. Today, you can visit the stunning temples, plazas, and ball courts from that time, though many more structures lie hidden in the jungle.
Next up, we’ll visit Yaxha, just 19 miles from Tikal. The word “Yaxha” means blue-green water in the Mayan language and refers to Lake Yaxha, which the city overlooks from a ridge. The views here are amazing, but so are the remains of the third largest Mayan city in Guatemala. Yaxha is known for its twin pyramid complex and the many causeways or sacbeob that link to outlying neighborhoods.
El Mirador is a more recently discovered site that wasn’t truly explored until 2003. Most of the city is still covered in jungle, so there are ongoing excavations. However, you can visit the revealed structures, such as La Danta pyramid, which provides incredible views of other pyramids and the jungle. This area is known for the well-preserved stucco friezes and the carved stelae that provide information about the past civilization.
Finally, we’ll visit Ceibal. Also found in Peten, about 62 miles from Tikal, Ceibal is boat-access only. Between 830-890 AD, the city housed roughly 10,000 people and was an important commercial city on the Pasion River. Its hieroglyphic stairways and 57 uncovered stelae make this a good place to visit for a glimpse of what life was like in Mayan times.
add-on
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add-on
Beyond the stunning cities the Mayans left behind, many natural caves were once used as ritual sites by the Maya people. They were believed to be the entrance to Xibalba or the Maya underworld.
ATM Cave – The full name of this cave is Actun Tunichil Muknal or the Cave of the Stone Sepulcher. It was used for hundreds of years as a ceremonial cave where assorted rituals and even human sacrifices were conducted. As you tour through the cave, you’ll see the remains of some sacrifices preserved in the cave. There are also pieces of ceramic containers and stoneware, including the rare Monkey Pot, which is one of just four such pots found in Central America.
Rio Frio Cave – The cathedral entrance to this cave is over 70 feet high, with stalactites dangling from the roof. You’ll see colorful boulders scattered throughout the cave as you enter, but as you venture deeper into the quarter mile long cave, you’ll see waterfalls, pools, and stalagmites, as well. The cave was used as a sacred burial site by the Maya people, so it’s also an important historical site.
Barton Creek Cave – More than 5 miles of this cave are mapped. You’ll travel through the crystal clear water in a kayak or canoe, keeping an eye out for the human remains from sacrifices and pottery shards from offerings to Chaac, the rain god. The cave’s natural rock formations get your imagination going, too, since they often resemble animals or people.
Nohoch Che’en Caves Branch – This cave is in central Belize, by the foothills of the Maya Mountains. The Caves Branch River, which runs through 19 caves, formed the limestone cave network, making it ideal for cave tubing and kayaking. Inside the cave branch, you’ll find remnants from ancient rituals, including paintings, fire pits, and pieces of pottery. It’s a fascinating journey through time.
