El Castillo
Valley views.
Denis Barthel — CC BY-SA 4.0 · cjuneau — CC BY 2.0 · Kaldari — CC0 · PLBechly — CC BY-SA 4.0
A Maya city on a hilltop above the Mopan River in western Belize, about a kilometre from the Guatemalan border. It was a ceremonial centre of the Belize Valley in the Late Classic period, roughly AD 700 to 900, when some two hundred thousand people lived in the valley. Its name means «maiden of the rock». The visit starts with a small hand-cranked ferry carrying cars and people across the river, then a road climbing through the trees to the plazas. Its landmark is El Castillo, a pyramid about 40 metres high that visitors can climb, with a carved stucco frieze on its east side showing Maya symbols and gods. From the top the view spreads across the valley, forests and hills into Guatemala. Howler monkeys live in the trees around the plazas, calling in the morning. A small visitor centre at the entrance has a site model and panels on its history. The ferry stops before the site closes at 17:00. Heat and humidity are high and mosquitoes plentiful, so carry water, repellent and a hat. The site is near the Guatemalan border, so keep to marked paths and go with a licensed tour or in daylight.
Valley views.
Carved stucco.
Across the river.
San José Succotz, about 13 km west of San Ignacio
BZ$25 for non-residents; the river ferry is free and the site closes at 17:00.