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• Gaze at the longest barrier reef in the Western hemisphere: Belize's reef covers 296km (185 miles), including a nearly continuous wall of coral stretching almost 224km (140 miles) from Mexico to the Sapodilla Cayes.
• Head offshore to Ambergris Caye's resorts or chill out at a beachside cabaña in laid-back Caye Caulker: the islands make ideal bases for diving and snorkelling.
• Visit Altun Ha, a major Mayan ceremonial centre and trading centre in the Classic period (AD 250-900); an extraordinary head of the sun god, ornately carved in jade, was found here and is now a national symbol of Belize.
• Take a motorboat up the New River from Orange Walk to Lamanai: the spectacular Mayan citadel ruin sits in its own archaeological reserve, which also contains a museum, the remains of two 16th-century Spanish churches and a 19th-century sugar mill.
• Discover the famous perfectly carved crystal skull found in a temple vault on the Mayan site of Lubaantum, near the town of San Antonio, in the Toledo District inland from Punta Gorda.
• Travel into the Chiquibul rainforest to Caracol: the immense Mayan city in the Cayo district is home to the tallest man-made structure in Belize – Canaa (Sky Palace), rising 43m (140ft) high.
• Enjoy fine views and secluded streams in the 121-hectare (300-acre) Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve in the Cayo district. The area contains the Hidden Valley Falls, which plunge 305m (1,000ft) into the valley.
• Catch a glimpse of a jaguar in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary: 40,500 hectares (100,000 acres) of tropical forest were set aside in the Maya Mountains in 1984 to protect the jaguar population. Other residents include jaguarundis, howler monkeys and toucans.
• Wander through Belize City: among the sights are St John's Cathedral (the oldest Anglican church in Central America) and Government House, the former residence of the governor-general, built in 1814 and now accommodating the House of Culture Museum (website: http://nichbelize.org).
See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.
• Head offshore to Ambergris Caye's resorts or chill out at a beachside cabaña in laid-back Caye Caulker: the islands make ideal bases for diving and snorkelling.
• Visit Altun Ha, a major Mayan ceremonial centre and trading centre in the Classic period (AD 250-900); an extraordinary head of the sun god, ornately carved in jade, was found here and is now a national symbol of Belize.
• Take a motorboat up the New River from Orange Walk to Lamanai: the spectacular Mayan citadel ruin sits in its own archaeological reserve, which also contains a museum, the remains of two 16th-century Spanish churches and a 19th-century sugar mill.
• Discover the famous perfectly carved crystal skull found in a temple vault on the Mayan site of Lubaantum, near the town of San Antonio, in the Toledo District inland from Punta Gorda.
• Travel into the Chiquibul rainforest to Caracol: the immense Mayan city in the Cayo district is home to the tallest man-made structure in Belize – Canaa (Sky Palace), rising 43m (140ft) high.
• Enjoy fine views and secluded streams in the 121-hectare (300-acre) Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve in the Cayo district. The area contains the Hidden Valley Falls, which plunge 305m (1,000ft) into the valley.
• Catch a glimpse of a jaguar in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary: 40,500 hectares (100,000 acres) of tropical forest were set aside in the Maya Mountains in 1984 to protect the jaguar population. Other residents include jaguarundis, howler monkeys and toucans.
• Wander through Belize City: among the sights are St John's Cathedral (the oldest Anglican church in Central America) and Government House, the former residence of the governor-general, built in 1814 and now accommodating the House of Culture Museum (website: http://nichbelize.org).
See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.