Belize is the last unexplored frontier near our borders; a naturalist's paradise! A beautiful and peaceful country in the heart of the ancient Maya World with ruins abound - it is an archaeologist's dreamland. It is also one of the best kept secrets of the Caribbean. The ancient Mayan civilization once lived throughout Belize, and over 600 of their fascinating ancient cities can still be seen here. The ruins listed in the navigation bar are just a few of the incredible sites this great civilization built. They are all worth visiting, from the major site of Altun Ha to the little known site of Uxbenka.
The history of the Mayans began a long time ago, around 2500 B.C. The oldest site appears to be Cuello in Orange Walk. Then came the pre-classic era in which the cities of Lamanai, home to the largest pre-classic structure in the Mayan world, and Cerros prospered. In the classic period, the crowning period for the Mayan civilization, the enormous sites of Caracol and El Pilar rose out of the forest and ceremonial centers like Xunantunich built lovely temples and pyramids. The prosperity of the Maya didn't last forever, and in 900 A.D. most of the great Maya centres collapsed. But the culture and outposts of the civilization lived on and cities like Santa Rita and Lamanai still were inhabited when the Spanish came. In fact, Lamanai lasted right up into the 1900s until British sugar cane farmers drove the remaining inhabitants out to make way for their farms.