Map of our San Ignacio Area Adventures
by Bwana_Brown
This map shows Crooked Tree, the inland island birdwatching sanctuary, in the top right corner. It was from there that we arrived in San Ignacio, on the Guatemala border on our 12th day in Belize. San Ignacio was very conveniently located to allow us to do further trips in any direction, with our first two adventures being located right on the doorstep of our accommodations at the Trek Stop. The Mayan ruins of Xunantunich followed by a 2.5 hour jungle tubing trip down the Mopan River was a great way to get started. We immediately followed this with a full-day trip back toward Belmopan as we explored the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) sacrificial cave, with skeletons still remaining from 1100 years ago. We finished off with a two-day excursion into Guatemala to see the most famous Mayan site of them all, at Tikal National Park. Mixed on both sides of our Tikal trip were a couple of day trips into San Ignacio itselt to see what it had to offer. One week after we arrived, we were back on the road, headed for Belize City on the Caribbean coast for a final night before we flew out!
Swimming
by paparush
We were iffy about swimming in the river as all those drains/sewers lead down to the water. We waded some, up river from the new Bridge. Wasn't too bad.
Then we found the Swimming Pool at the San Ignacio Hotel. $3 bucks for adults, $2 for kids. Swim all day! Great find!
Photos and the Amish
by diver-x
Believe it or not, there is a sizeable Amish community in Belize. On our way to Barton Creek, we passed through an Amish farm. Though it is tempting, refrain from photographing these people because they find photography offensive. The Amish shun technology and live a simple life.
Canoeing Macal River
by Trekki
San Ignacio's jungle has so much to offer for water sports lovers.
Macal river maeanders through the area, and thus is perfect for any kind of canoeing trips.
I tried to find the ones, we have booked in 1997, but failed to remember the name (and it was not specifically mentioned in my travelbook...).
But as it's quite popular, you should not have a problem in finding a good one.
We have booked at Martha's, and our guide was called Colin the Crocodile.
We had so much fun, as he had explained us the animals and the trees and all.
Toucans were flying bananas - bats were flying mouse :-) For the trip we did, it was good to have bathing suits (as they let you have a bath in the river), good shoes, as they take you to a medicine trail and you need to hike for a while.
Camera is a MUST, and sunsceen is not too bad.
Long sleeves shirts, as depending on the season, mosquitos might like to suck your blood.
Chechem Hah pottery caves
by ShellyLe
Wow, this place is a trip. Out in the middle of nowhere is this cave system. It's on a family farm, and their dog discovered the caves. Inside they found pottery dating back to 600 B.C. or around there. They took some of the pottery away, but put some back just as it was found. It's a hard cave to get to - you have to be in shape. I'm not kidding, it's a 30 minute hike up hill, the last 1/4 very steep. Then while in the cave itself you have to walk very carefully up and down and bend and go up ladders and rapple down a couple of ropes. It's quite the experience. I would not take little kids into this cave.
The grand climax is finding yourself in the ceremonial blood ritual room, and then turning out your lights. There are cave formations but the fun is the attentive and informative guide. We had Lucianno, a real knowledgeable talker on most every subject on the area. Cave times vary. Morning cave tours start at 9:00 and 10:30 a.m., and afternoon tours start at 1:00 and 2:30 p.m. Prices are: (Belize Dollars) $50 per group of 1-3, and $12 per additional person. Flashlights rent for $6. Our tour was only 2 people.
There is a small gift shop and a place to eat and have cold softdrinks if you need them afterwards. You may hear a howler monkey, as we did, if you get lucky.
![Macal River [photo by Chris]](http://cache.virtualtourist.com/2/4998848.jpg "Macal River [photo by Chris]")
Macal River [photo by Chris]
Keel-billed toucan
Blue Morpho butterfly (female, wings folded)
Collared aracari toucan in the grounds
