Xunantunich by Paul2001
Xunantunich was one of my favourite Mayan ruins in Belize. Unlike most of the other ruins I was able to investigate this large ruin on my own, so I could climb up and down the large pyramids and tombs at my leisure. The site was historically was not as important as those as Tikal and Caracol. In fact it was probably a junior partner to the later city. Unlike those two cities, Xunantunich was still occupied at 1000 A.D., probably because of its location to a large river. Xunantunich was largely looted and then excavated in the 1930's.
Today Xunantunich is dominated by the huge El Castillo. This wonderful building is soars 40m over the jungle and is one of the prominent images of Belize. From the top you can see all of the site, much of Western Belize and into Guatemala. Another interesting feature of the El Castillo is that it is surrounded by fine stucco carvings that have been well restored. The rest of the site actually is surrounding three plazas, each surrounded by buildings. The most interesting of these is the building archaeologists call the "Palace". This was just recently excavated and was more likely a meeting place for the local royality.
A word of warning about Xunantunich, it gets hot here. Unlike some of the other Mayan ruins, the pyramids here are exposed fully to the sun and during the peak hours it is very hot. Be warned before you decide to take a climb up and down these ruins and bring lots of water.
Xunantunich costs BZ$10 to visit and is open from 7:30am to 4pm. I visited by bus which run by here quite often. Just ask to be let off.
