Where's the best sightseeing in and around Corozal?

In Corozal, the best sightseeing is in Corozal Bay, a wonderful sight where you can sit down in a restaurant right by the water, get good food, and enjoy the wind in your face.

 

The whole of Belize is full of Mayan history.  There is a small place in Corozal called Santa. Rita which is just one temple that the Mayans built and surrounded by the foundations of other buildings. Visiting Santa Rita is the quickest and simplest way to get a touch of Mayan...

In Corozal, the best sightseeing is in Corozal Bay, a wonderful sight where you can sit down in a restaurant right by the water, get good food, and enjoy the wind in your face.

 

The whole of Belize is full of Mayan history.  There is a small place in Corozal called Santa. Rita which is just one temple that the Mayans built and surrounded by the foundations of other buildings. Visiting Santa Rita is the quickest and simplest way to get a touch of Mayan in you.

 

You could also go to Cerros, an ancient site on the Cerros Peninsula that faces Corozal. There are a couple of buildings you can climb up in Cerros with magnificent views into the bay. That is where the Mayans used to begin their trip inland all the way to Lamanai, which is in the biggest freshwater lagoon the center of the country.   That is my number one favorite because I’ve done that trip well in excess of 100 times. I often take my clients there to show them around and I always get them the best guide. The boat trip up the river is just phenomenal.  On different times of the year, you see different birds, crocodiles, and see some manatee chewing on the grasses in the river. Finally, you reach Lamanai and get to walk around the temples there that are quite stunning, yet are just a very small fraction of the whole complex where about 50,000 people used to live.

 

There are far many temples in Belize that they’ve partially excavated, but you can go to all of them. The high temple is my favorite because you get up there and walk all the way up the lagoon for 30 miles and you can see the Mayan Mountains if the weather is really clear.

 

And every time I go there, I learn more about the place. The guides that show you around there have to go through intensive training, and every year they learn more about the whole Mayan culture and what happened at Lamanai, which is just fascinating. That would be one place that I would recommend to anyone who is visiting Belize.

 

I’ve been to many other sites as well, and they’re very nice. They’re bigger than Cerros, andt smaller or bigger than Lamanai. Lamanai is my favorite.

 

On the river, Lamanai is about 60 miles from Cerros. I go to a place on the Northern Highway, just north of the village of Carmelita, and I go to Lamanai Eco Tours which is run by Errol Cadels. I’ve tried all of the operators along the river, and I found that his operation consistently has the best guides and tours. If you go with just two or 30 people in a group, they can accommodate that. Their prices are just as competitive as anyone else’s, so it’s real value for money. They also give you a traditional Belizean lunch which consists of rice, beans, chicken, and all the other side dishes. It’s really, really good.

 

(Ancient Mayan temple, near Corozal, Belize, pictured.)