The plazas
Among the trees.
Denis Barthel — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Denis Barthel — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Denis Barthel — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Denis Barthel — CC BY-SA 4.0
A Maya palace on a hilltop above San Ignacio, once home to an elite family, overlooking the meeting of the Macal and Mopan rivers. Though its largest buildings are Classic-era, the site was lived in from around 1200 BC, making it one of the oldest known Maya sites in western Belize. The site has 34 structures around seven linked plazas: temples and palaces with narrow stone rooms, passages and stairways, two ballcourts, and a tallest temple of about 25 metres. Visitors wander between plazas shaded by huge trees and step into some of the rooms and corbel-arched passages. A small museum at the entrance shows pottery and tools from the excavations and explains how the family lived in the palace. The site is quiet and little visited, unlike the big ones. Being so close to town, it suits a short morning or afternoon without a tour, walking up the hill road or taking a taxi. Heat and humidity are high and mosquitoes plentiful, so carry water, repellent and a hat.
Among the trees.
Stone rooms.
Pottery and tools.
Hilltop above San Ignacio, about a 15-minute walk from the town centre
No, it is close to San Ignacio, a 15-minute walk or short taxi ride, and easy to explore on your own.