Award-winning travel writer Nigel Tisdall recently took a journey through Belize with Rainbow, discovering a pocket-sized Central American country with plenty to enjoy from reef to rainforest.
By Nigel Tisdall
‘Easy Belizey’ quip the souvenir t-shirts when I arrive in the only English-speaking nation in Central America. Wedged between Mexico and Guatemala, what was once British Honduras does indeed feel relaxed with its peaceful roads, hassle-free sands and blissfully uncrowded archaeological sites.
One reason is that this fertile tropical country, which is slightly larger than Wales, is home to just 400,000 people. Belizeans are an affable and harmonious cook-up of ethnic groups that include Creole, Mestizo, East Indian, Chinese, Mennonite and the Garifuna, who are descended from enslaved West Africans shipwrecked on St Vincent, in the Windward Islands, around 1635.
Bordering the Caribbean Sea, their beach-dotted homeland has become popular with North American ‘snowbirds’ seeking winter sunshine, but it’s not overwhelmed with cruise ships or all-inclusive resorts. The most attractive accommodation is in small lodges inland and along the coast that offer a wide choice of rewarding excursions led by enthusiastic guides.
In the footsteps of the ancient Maya
Belize is also primed for adventure, so expect heat, insect bites, bumpy drives and a sense that you never quite know what the day will bring. I learn this almost immediately on an excursion to Actun Tunichil Muknal, a three-mile-long cave in the northern foothills of the Maya Mountains that was once used by the Maya for sacred ceremonies, including human sacrifice.
Today, this is known, inevitably, as ATM. To venture inside, I have to don a safety helmet and head-torch, then plunge into water for an hour of swimming, clambering and slithering to reach a lofty chamber where 1,200 years ago priests would conduct their rituals. The climax is a well-preserved gathering of pots, bones, skulls and – eventually – complete skeletons in horrific positions. Easy Belizey? Not really. Worth the challenge? You bet.
Contemplating the legacies of the Maya world is a chief reason to come here, and there are numerous ruins where you can sit in peace with the candle-ends of this once-mighty empire. The largest ensemble is at Caracol, in Cayo District, which was home to 150,000 residents who had a highly developed understanding of time and astronomy. Even now, the 141ft Caana (Sky-Place), where the royal family resided, remains the tallest building in Belize.
Another magical site is Lamanai, in Orange Walk District, which has an excellent museum with engaging exhibits such as an elaborately carved stela erected by the splendidly named Lord Smoking Shell. To get here, you have to take an exhilarating, hour-long speedboat ride up the mangrove-fringed New River, where the only signs of life are avian, including magnificent kites, herons, cormorants and parrots. There are crocodiles in the lake, towering trees with graphic names like horseballs, while at dusk, black howler monkeys let out their haunting, territorial call.
Tracking Belize’s most mysterious predator
For many wildlife lovers, the holy grail sight in Belize is the jaguar.
At least 80 of these beautiful cats live in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, a dense, 250,000-acre reserve in Stann Creek District that’s crowned by the 3,670ft Victoria’s Peak. The chances of spotting one are slim because visitors are only allowed into a small section – and they are shy, nocturnal predators – but a trip here is far from disappointing.
On a three-hour guided evening hike, I find plenty to marvel at, from the gorgeously plumed rufous-tailed jacamar and cute-eyed kinkajou to an eight-foot, highly venomous, fer-de-lance snake. Fortunately, you can see jaguars in the well-run Belize Zoo, which lies 30 miles west of Belize City, where most of the inmates are there because they were either injured, orphaned, abandoned or confiscated.
From jungle to jewel-toned seas
After sweating it out in the jungle, it’s then time to appreciate Belize’s 185-mile coastline, which is home to the second-longest barrier reef in the world. Here, fishing villages such as Placencia and Hopkins have developed into laid-back resort communities with boutique hotels, crafts shops and informal restaurants where you can grab some beach downtime. Dining out here is super-casual with fish, seafood and lobster to the fore. Corn tortillas and tamales reflect Maya influences, while Creole dishes like chicken with rice and beans feature on most menus. Tropical fruits abound, and Belizean chocolate is excellent – and when it’s time to party, the local rum is inexpensive while the Hobbs Brewery produces tangy craft beers.
Out to sea lies a dazzling necklace of over 200 atolls and cayes (small, low-lying coral islands) with a vivid marine life that includes turtles, eagle rays and whale sharks. Snorkellers and divers can take boat trips to discover a treasury of bright corals and show-off fish, then enjoy a barbecue lunch of jackfish and pineapple. Some of these pancake-flat isles, such as Tobacco Caye, have unpretentious hotels where you can hide away beneath the stars while learning about the conservation projects that are working hard to fight problems caused by plastic pollution and climate change.
The ideal way to explore this shimmering waterworld is on a crewed catamaran, which can be chartered for up to eight people. It’s a golden chance to flush out the brain and re-stock it with glorious nature, admiring the bouffant pink clouds at sunrise, watching frigatebirds patrol the skies and relishing the warm breezes as you sail to a remote atoll like Turneffe or Glover’s Reef. The latter is the southernmost in Belize, a 15-mile-long lagoon where a patchwork of some 800 coral gardens caps an underwater table-top mountain formed over 60 million years ago. It’s rare to find more than a few sailboats here, and you can snorkel for hours admiring the nurse sharks, tweedy-looking rock hind and flamboyantly dressed filefish.
On the five-hour sail back to the mainland, we catch some tuna that later becomes sublime sashimi, wave to passing turtles and manatees, then head up the Sittee River to pay a night visit by dinghy to the vast Anderson’s Lagoon. Here, millions of micro-organisms in the water emit an eerie bluish light when disturbed, a mysterious bioluminescence in which fish appear to dart around like underwater fireworks. There’s only one other boat present, leaving us free to ponder this natural magic show in silence. To quote another t-shirt, it’s an experience that’s truly ‘Unbelizeable’.
Experience Your Own ‘Unbelizeable’ Adventure
Ready to experience Belize for yourself? Its ancient Maya caves and reef-fringed islands make it a destination that rewards the curious. Speak to our specialists to craft your own journey through the jungle and sea—designed entirely around you.
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