XUNANTUNICH AND INLAND BLUE HOLE

The name, according to one interpretation, means "Maiden of the Rock" in the Yucatec dialect. It is pronounced " Zoo-nan-two-nich." It was the first site in Belize to be opened to the public, when the road and a ferry were built in 1954.

DETAILED ITINERARY

The day is long and the ride is on three major highways in Belize. The scenery is breathtaking and there are many opportunities for picture taking. The Hummingbird Highway is the most scenic of all. Lots of birds can be seen and there may be a chance of seeing Belize’s National Bird, the Toucan. We depart Placencia at 7:00am with approximately a three hours ride to the site of Xunantunich. We enter the site using a manually operated ferry to cross the Mopan River.

Xunantunich is located at San Jose Succotz Village in the Cayo District, eight miles west of San Ignacio Town. Here we begin the first leg of our tour with a knowledgeable local tour guide. Xunantunich was a major ceremonial center during the Classic Period (300-900 AD). The site is composed of six major plazas, surrounded by more than twenty-five temples and palaces. The most prominent structure located at the south end of the site is the pyramid "El Castillo"(The Castle) which is 130 feet high above the plaza. This was the tallest man-made structure in all of Belize, until the discovery of "Caana" at Caracol. The most notable feature on "El Castillo" is located on the east side of the lower temple. There you will find a reconstructed frieze, a banded stucco decoration, which at one time extended around the entire pyramid.

After the tour we will have lunch at a jungle restaurant. Following lunch, we head back to Blue Hole National Park for a refreshing swim in the sapphire waters of the Blue Hole. We then continue the journey to Placencia arriving at around 6:00pm, just in time for dinner.