San Ignacio, Belize Archeology

This full-day tour to Tikal National Park introduces you to the greatest city the Maya ever built. It dates back to 200 BC, and remained a flourishing capital until 900 AD. At its height, it is believed to have supported a population of around 90,000.

This half-day tour takes you to two of the most famous Maya sites in Belize, Xunantunich and Cahal Pech. After your day of historical sightseeing, you’ll have gotten a fascinating look at Maya culture and architecture. Besides the Maya sites, you’ll also get to admire jungle wildlife along the way.

Actun Tunichil Muknal cave is the doorway to Xibalba, the Maya underworld. This cave contains ceramics and human skeletons that have fused with the walls of the cave. The most famous of these remains is the Crystal Maiden, a skeleton of a young woman believed to have been a sacrifice. Her bones are now partially covered with the sparkling build-up of cave sediment.

Explore the vast ruins of Tikal during this one-day tour. You’ll visit Tikal’s temples and pyramids, learn about Mayan culture, and walk along short trails through the jungle.

This tour will bring you to the top of a Maya temple, and then to the entrance of the Maya underworld. The temple is inside the Maya city of Xunantunich, which is located near the border of Guatemala. Its name translates to “Maiden of the Rock.” After you ascend the walls of its temple, you’ll continue the tour to the Cave Branch River, where you’ll follow the river into a series of caves that had intense spiritual significance for the Maya.

Located on a hilltop overlooking the beautiful town of San Ignacio is the Cahal Pech Maya site and the Visitor Center. This site is one of the oldest Maya ruins in Belize.

This site has one of the most interesting collection temples of any Maya ruins in Belize. There’s the 130-foot tall El Castillo temple, which is one of the tallest buildings in the country. Visitors can climb to the top of it stepped facade to check out the incredible surrounding landscape.

On this tour, you’ll get to see two very different Maya sites. The first, Xuanantinuch, is the ruins of a compact but impressive Maya city. Here visitors can stroll around multiple plazas and temples. At the nearby Barton Creek Cave, you’ll see a cave that served as an entrance to Xibalba, the Maya underworld.

This tour will take you to two different nature reserves in the Maya Mountain region of western Belize. You'll get to see Maya ruins and some of the incredible natural formations that characterize this part of the country. Keep in mind that there is some hiking and climbing involved in this tour, so participants should be at least moderately fit and have no physical limitations.

Caracol Mayan Temples was discovered in 1938 by loggers, located deep within the Chiquibul Forest Reserve now it is the most extensive Maya site in Belize and one of the biggest in the Maya World.

Take this tour to see one of the largest Maya ruins in the world inside the Chiquibul Forest Reserve. It begins with an early morning drive from Chaa Creek—you’ll travel 2 hours to reach this site.

Tikal is a highly doable day-trip from San Ignacio, and this all-day excursion ensures that you don’t miss out on seeing one of the most spectacular ruins left behind by the Maya. This is an all-day tour, and includes a stop for lunch. Join your guide for an exciting trek to the jungle, which with any luck will include sightings of some incredible wildlife – keep an eye out for the famous resplendent quetzals and their tremendous tail feathers. Sightings of monkeys and birds will continue once you arrive, and you’ll get to watch jungle animals skitter up and down the stony faces of the many temples.

Touring Xunantunich and the Belize Zoo will give you the opportunity to some of the best natural and cultural destinations Belize has to offer.

This is an all-day, seven-hour tour that takes you to one of the most famous Maya sites in Belize. The Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave is a fascinating cave that preserves the remains of Maya culture. It’s best known for the skeleton of a sacrificial victim – a young woman whose remains have lain in the cave for over 1,000 years. Over time, the bones have formed a layer of crystallized minerals, which has led to her nickname, “the Crystal Maiden.”

Take this full-day tour to visit the impressive remains of the Caracol site. It served as an important trading hub for nearby Tikal, which is right across the border in Guatemala. This is an educational tour as well as an opportunity to experience the forests of western Belize. It also includes a break for lunch.

Belize is a country of Maya history, diverse flora and fauna, and gorgeous rivers and streams. In the rainforest of the Orange Walk District, this tour combines these elements into one day’s adventure. The tour offers hotel pick up from Belize City, and even the two hour drive to the river is scenic and informative, with guides narrating the route.

This tour takes you to two of Belize's top Maya sites - Xunantunich and Cahal Pech.

This tour starts by making your way along the riverside trail leading through habitat for birds, green iguanas and other kinds of Belizean wildlife.

The nicest way to see Belize up close is on horseback. You’ll find beaches, jungle, pine forests and a few other types of terrain. The San Ignacio area is predominantly jungle and rolling hills with lots of Mayan ruins.

Visit the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins and the site the Maya named after the "Maiden of the Rock." It has enormous and impressive examples of artful Maya hieroglyphs.