Are there rivers and lakes in or around Belize?

There are many rivers, lakes and waterfalls scattered around Belize.  Many lie within the forest, such as the Thousand Foot Falls, which is found in the Mountain Pine Ridge.
 
Five Blues Lake National Park is one of the most attractive protected areas in Belize.  The area got its name from the different shades of blue represented from its depth and the Sibun River, which is located in the Cayo district and runs off the foothills of the Maya Mountains.

There are many rivers, lakes and waterfalls scattered around Belize.  Many lie within the forest, such as the Thousand Foot Falls, which is found in the Mountain Pine Ridge.
 
Five Blues Lake National Park is one of the most attractive protected areas in Belize.  The area got its name from the different shades of blue represented from its depth and the Sibun River, which is located in the Cayo district and runs off the foothills of the Maya Mountains.

We have rivers on the mainland of Belize, not on the island of Ambergris Caye. You can navigate the rivers, too, and there is white water rafting. Recently though, they dammed one river which used to be a very fun play river that had Class 5 rapids. Now, there is only the Mopan River, which starts in Guatemala, but the current there is minute and the rapids are not even more than Class 1. Mopan River is mostly used for washing, sustenance, and farming.

We have rivers on the mainland of Belize, not on the island of Ambergris Caye. You can navigate the rivers, too, and there is white water rafting. Recently though, they dammed one river which used to be a very fun play river that had Class 5 rapids. Now, there is only the Mopan River, which starts in Guatemala, but the current there is minute and the rapids are not even more than Class 1. Mopan River is mostly used for washing, sustenance, and farming.

Yes, we do have a lot of watersheds in Belize; about 16 major watersheds that branch off onto minor watersheds. I live in the Cayo district, which has the Belize River, the longest watershed in Belize.  The Belize River is also where we have our annual canoe race, which was about a month ago.
 
I live in San Ignacio, which is where the Belize River starts. It is actually a combination of two rivers that join here in San Ignacio. To get to San Ignacio, you have to cross the...

Yes, we do have a lot of watersheds in Belize; about 16 major watersheds that branch off onto minor watersheds. I live in the Cayo district, which has the Belize River, the longest watershed in Belize.  The Belize River is also where we have our annual canoe race, which was about a month ago.
 
I live in San Ignacio, which is where the Belize River starts. It is actually a combination of two rivers that join here in San Ignacio. To get to San Ignacio, you have to cross the Macal River, which comes from the Maya Mountains and we also have the Mopan River, which comes from Guatemala.
 
These rivers are big enough to navigate. In addition to the canoe race (which was great), people do a lot of kayaking and tubing. If you go here in town the river is a little shallow but if you go farther down then it gets deeper as you go.
 
I am not really sure about lakes, but I think we do have one in the southern part of Belize that has recently been established as a National Park; it is called Five Blues Lakes but is at the moment unexplored. When visiting the islands, there are a lot of lagoons, most of which are salt-water lagoons, and close to the sea. 

 

(Arial view of the Belize River through the Belize District, pictured.)

I am a sea person so I don’t go to lagoons quite often and lagoons here in Belize mostly serve a different purpose.
 
We have many rivers in Belize. Some of them are the Belize River, Mopan River, Monkey River, New River, Macal River, Sibun River, Rio Hondo, Sarstoon River, and Rio Blanco.
 
The Macal River is mostly for river canoeing, which is usually combined with bird watching, wildlife, and flora and fauna tours. The Mopan River is the same as the Macal River...

I am a sea person so I don’t go to lagoons quite often and lagoons here in Belize mostly serve a different purpose.
 
We have many rivers in Belize. Some of them are the Belize River, Mopan River, Monkey River, New River, Macal River, Sibun River, Rio Hondo, Sarstoon River, and Rio Blanco.
 
The Macal River is mostly for river canoeing, which is usually combined with bird watching, wildlife, and flora and fauna tours. The Mopan River is the same as the Macal River but you can also do a lot of tubing and kayaking rather than canoeing there. There are people who go to the Mayan Ruins, then hop in a canoe, go down the river and then go cave tubing. You can do all these on a combination tour. The River Lagoon is a combination tour of wildlife, flora and fauna, and we use that to go to Lamanai, which is a major Mayan ruin in northern Belize.
 
In southern Belize, the rivers are mostly great for kayaking, rafting, and flora and fauna tours. You can also go river tubing on the Rio Blanco. Rio Blanco offers a lot of water activities such as tubing, canoeing, rafting, kayaking, paddle boating, and crocodile spotting.
 
Most of the rivers in Belize are very slow moving shallow rivers. We do have some rapids but most of the rivers are very safe and slow moving. 95% of the rivers in Belize are clean with crystal clear waters so you can go swimming in them without worrying about getting bacteria. I wouldn’t swim in the New River and Rio Hondo. I wouldn’t swim in the Belize River but some locals do it. Mopan River and Macal are both excellent for swimming.
 
If you are in Southern Belize, the Sibun River and Rio Blanco are also good for swimming. The river around our resort, the Black Orchid, is the Belize River, which I do not recommend clients to swim in but as I’ve mentioned some locals do swim in the Belize River. Around 30 minutes away from the Black Orchid, you can get to rivers that are nice, clean, and safe to swim and have fun in.

 

(Tubing through Belize's underground rivers, pictured.)