Southern Belize Districts

So far the North has exceeded our expectations, but what will Southern Belize have to offer? The North and Central Belize Districts were packed with exiting places to visit. We take a look on the map for our next destinations and then get going.

The Southern Belize Districts

Stann Creek District As we travel Southward, leaving behind the North, we make our way to Stann Creek. Driving along the Hummingbird Highway heightens our sense of adventure. The air is thick with excitement as the scenic road twists and turns speeding us to some new, and thrilling destination in Southern Belize. This winding highway has a lot of stop-offs along the way. Nature trails, blue lagoons, stalactites and stalagmites that grin at you through the mouth of a cave. Now and then a creepy crawly scurries over the road. You can see them a mile off as the road disappears into the distance. Where is it heading. The first stop is Dangriga. A community of mostly Garifuna people. As history tells it, this community sprang from African slave escapees who were shipwrecked at St Vincent...It`s a long story, but eventually they settle in Dangriga in the 1800`s. Their festival is held on the 19th of November, so try and manoeuvre your schedule to fit a visit in. The people re-enact the scene with costume, music and dance.

Jumping in the truck, we are headed South West now, and soon reach Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, the Jaguar preserve. Did you know this is the only one in the world? If you have the nerve, take a night tour to have a better chance of seeing one, because they are very shy creatures and also nocturnal. A day tour will give occasion to meet the national animal of Belize, the Tapir. Do you know what they look like???

On the move again and soon we reach a very long, slither of a Peninsula, with a very long lagoon separating it from the mainland except for the North end. We have reached beautiful Placencia. The best of Belize beaches is found here, so make the most of lazing around on them. Actually, it`s just one long beach.

The accommodation along this peninsula of Southern Belize is very imaginative, tasteful, and colourful. You will be spoilt for choice as you walk along the worlds narrowest street.

Toledo District Here a humbling experience awaits you, because here is where the Maya live in traditional settings, and they have accommodation for visitors to spend some time with Mayan families.

The house in the picture is a typical Belizean house in Toledo and other districts, but the Maya people build thatched huts that are not on stilts.

Southern Belize used to be unspoilt country, but now Toledo is the poorest of the two Southern Belize Districts and the most trampled upon. They call it, "The Forgotten District of Belize".

You can help by supporting the efforts of the Mayan community to keep this part of Belize natural and protected. When I visited, I was taken back in time. I saw scenes of rice threshing floors, Mayan villages, and sat on the banks of the gushing Rio Grande, peacefully passing the time picnicking with family and friends. These surrounding settings took billions of years to form, yet in one fleeting moment of time, they are being demolished, and for what?

If you love eco-tourism, Southern Belize is the place to spend some time enjoying the best of what this country has to offer. After all, is this not a chance to show the world how to stop polluting the earth? We already know what doesn`t work. The Maya can help show us what does.

Ok. So now I have that issue off my chest, what are some of the Belize attractions here in the Toledo District? Blue Creek Cave leads right into Guatemala and takes two days to walk through. But we don`t want you to leave the Belize Districts just yet. In Toledo there are Mayan Temple ruins with a difference. You have to see it to Belize it! Labaantun is built with reddish stone bricks that are so precisely cut that no mortar was needed to stick them together. This lies just outside San Pedro Columbia a little village North West of Punta Gorda the capital.

Or how about getting the chance to see the largest stele found in Belize? It is actually 31 ft high, and you can see it at the Nim Li Punit site along with 24 other stelae.

Monkey River Town, North East is a haven for fishermen and a launching point the great blue whale lovers.

It is quiet in Punta Gorda, well until it starts to bustle. Take a trip to the market area on Front Street. It starts early on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays or Saturdays. Farmers travel from all over Toledo, so you are bound to get the freshest of produce. There are also authentic clothes, like panchos and Mexican style hats. Just enjoy yourself and make yourself at home. Ruff it a little, or a lot!

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