The Cayo

The Cayo is a wild area near the western border. There are fantastic jungle lodges here and half of all visitors to Belize visit the Cayo at some point in their trip. It's Belize's second most popular destinatin for tourism. It spans over 2000 square miles and 53,000 people live here. It starts a few miles outside of the capital, Belmopan and runs along the Belize River. The people who live here are Maya, and more people speak Spanish than English. It's good to have a four-wheel drive since this is true jungle. Bring binoculars, too, becaue even if you're not a bird-watcher, you'll want to see as much as you can once you enter the wilds of The Cayo.

There are limestone caves in the Caves Branch River area, deep in the jungle, and many of them have not really been fully explored. There are stalactites in them so bring your camera, too. Look for cave trips from resorts like Caves Branch, Pook's Hill, and Jaguar Paw. There are very fancy resorts here in The Cayo, all managed with eco-tourism in mind.

Belmopan

This is just the capital of Belize, nothing spectacular to see but if you're passing through on you way to the Cayo, check out Guanacaste National Park for its guanacaste trees. Their seedpods look like monkey ears and they grow (the trees, not the seed pods) to over 100 feet in some cases. The hollowed-out tree trunks are used as dugout canoes, or dorries, by locals. There are 50 acres of wildlife and birds here, and there are 8 tours a day here.

Spanish Lookout is where the Mennonite farmers of the region live, and they were the ones who built the resorts in the area. Nice cafes and small shops here.

Blue Hole is a little blue pool, an exposed part of an underground river. The turquoise water is surrounded by mossy edges, so make sure you have a camera because it's beautiful and picturesque. You can get in, too, to cool off if you like. Look for the path, which leads to a cave. Take caution, it's steep and in the past shady charcters hung out here. now there's a full-time attendant so it's better.

San Ignacio

If you go 23 miles southwest of Belmopan, you hit San Ignacio, the center of the Cayo area. Nearby you will find Maya ruins, national parks, and butterfly farms so i'ts a good place to root yourself for side trips. Nice old wooden buildings and interesting bars make it a cool place to stay. There's a hand-pulled ferry across the Mopan River, and you get to work the crank yourself. Use the ferret to visit Xunantunich, which means stone maiden. It's an archaeological site from the Maya Classic Period. There's a visitor center with a snackbar. The pyramid has 360 views of the Mopan River valley, and don't miss the Mayan sculpture frieze with the jaguar heads.

The lodge at CHaa Creek owns the Rainforest Medicine Trail, a self-guided walk through the rain forest that teaches about medicinal plants. The center here works with the US National Institutes of Health. The shop has of course lots of natural healing products.

Mountain Pine Ridge

This is mountian country...300 square miles of small mountains with pine forests and old logging roads. It's about 3,700 feet elevation adn much cooler than lower-lying areas. Lots of agriculture, sheep, goats, and small mountain village of San Antonio. Visit the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, one of the finest features for travellers to Belize. There are 1500 miles of roads in here, and the jungle is still used for jungle warfare training by the US and Belize armies. No camping except in the village of Augustine, where the forest reserve's headquarters are located.

Look for Hidden Valley Falls, or Thousand Foot Falls, the highest in Central America. The place where you view the falls is at a distance from the falls themselves, but if you want to work hard you can make your way closer but prepare for some tough hiking through the jungle first.

The Rio Frio Caves are another good place to stop. They're located just outside the Reserve. There's a giant tree in the cave.

Visit the Green HIlls Butterfly Ranch for Belize's largest butterfly farm. There are 30,000 pupae raised here each year, and a 2,700 square foot area of butterflies.