MAYAN CITIES |
MAYAN CITIES |
The western part of Belize, situated in the Maya Mountains, is about as close to paradise on earth as I have seen; rolling hills dotted with Mayan sites, secluded valleys and clearings, beautyful fresh-water streams, banana and orange groves and a climate that is less hot and humid than the coastal areas. Also, there are few if any mosquitoes here.
I visited a number of Mayan sites in and around San Ignacio, a charming little river town about 20 miles east of the Guatemalan border. Right in town there is Cahal Pech, a somewhat later classic site with a number of palaces and courtyards. Further out to the south is Aguamayo, on the Copal river, and the site of the late Mayan Fort at Tiho, where they defeated and massacred the Spanish in 1571. To the west, near the border, lies Xunantunich. There are many other large Mayan sites in western Belize, such as Caracol and Naranjo, but these are hard to reach, and there is not much to be seen of the remains at these sites.
| Banana Grove at Aguamayo House. |  |
| Cahal Pech, Main Plaza and pyramid. |  |
| View of Temple 2 showing vault construction. |  |
| Altun Ha, steps of main pyramid. |  |
| A Chicotto, the Central American nose bear that can be found at many of the archaeological sites. |  |
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Andreas Kultermann,andreask@interl.net 3 Park Place, #1, Keokuk, Iowa 52632 H: (319) 524-6169 W: (319) 524-8730 |