Altun Ha Tour

Altun Ha—the first site on our trip along Belize’s Maya trail—was initially discovered while building the highway in 1957, and fully excavated beginning in 1963. In Belize, it’s easy to understand why enormous ruins go lost and undiscovered. With a mere population of about 300,000 and many national parks, Belize has green to spare. The country’s dense forest is filled with exotic plants and animals, and in northern Belize it is not uncommon to see jaguars. “Oh yes,” Mario said, “I see them all the time.”

We passed typical wooden houses built on stilts and painted in candy-colored pinks and yellows with banana trees on their lawns and lazy dogs sleeping on the steps. We turned into what looks like a driveway and realized we were at the ruins. Altun Ha was an important ceremonial site in the region during the Classic Maya period (A.D. 300 to 1000) and contained a cache of jade and other ancient booty. One of the biggest finds at Altun Ha was a carved jade head of the sun god Kinich Ahau weighing 10 pounds and standing six inches tall—the largest carved jade piece from the Maya era.

Most popular Ruins

Lamanai Ruins $110.00

West of Altun Ha, Lamanai is another worthwhile Maya site. It’s not easy to get to, however, and requires a whole day to visit, whereas Altun Ha is a half-day trip. Accessed by water taxi, the ride to Lamanai is part of the adventure. After an hour’s trip up the New River, visitors arrive at what was one of the oldest communities in Maya civilization (1500 B.C.). The name Lamanai, which was a portside city, comes from the Maya word Lama’anayin, meaning ‘submerged crocodile.’ Many crocodile sculptures were found at this site along with Olmec statues. Parents and kids alike will enjoy the boat ride up the river to this mystical group of ruins. Located 26 miles up the New River; boats leave from the town of Orange Walk, 52 miles north of Belize City. Tour leaves Belize City at 8:15 am each morning.

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Maya Ruins Of Belize

The Maya ruins of Belize include a number of well-known and historically important pre-Columbian Maya archaeological sites. Belize is considered part of the southern Maya lowlands of the Mesoamerican culture area, and the sites found there were occupied from the Preclassic until and after the arrival of the Spanish.

Altun Ha Mayan Ruins

Caracol Ruins

Historically the most important site, Caracol ('the snail' in Spanish), is located in western Belize, near the border with Guatemala and within the Belizean part of the Peten rainforest. Caracol was the center of one of the largest Maya kingdoms and today contains the extant remains of thousands of structures. The city was an important player in the Classic period political struggles of the southern Maya lowlands, and is known for defeating and subjugating Tikal (while allied with Calakmul, located in Campeche, Mexico).

 

Lamanai Ruins

Lamanai, located on the New River in Orange Walk District, is known for being the longest continually-occupied site in Mesoamerica. The initial settlement of Lamanai occurred during the Early Preclassic, and it was continuously occupied up to and through the colonization of the area. During the Spanish conquest of Yucatán, the conquistadores established a Roman Catholic church at Lamanai, but a revolt by the native Maya drove them away. The extant remains of the church are still standing today.

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