Mayan ruins in Belize: Treasures more undiscovered than in more famous sites

LAMANAI, Belize - "Just look!" says the woman beside me, and I do.

The view is simply amazing: lush, green jungle as far as the eye can see.

We are standing atop the High Temple at Lamanai on the Yucatan peninsula in northern Belize, part of a stunning collection of ancient stone structures with even more ancient secrets.

Like Belize as a whole, Lamanai is growing in popularity as a tourist destination. With air and hotel packages available, Belize is an attractive alternative for Canadian travellers seeking a change from the vacation experience in Mexico just to the north.

Travelling here is relatively easy. English is the official language of Belize, which is part of the Commonwealth, and the terrain and climate are the same as elsewhere on the Yucatan.

But there are differences, too. The pace is slower, the crowds smaller, and the Mayan treasures more undiscovered than other world-famous sites in Mexico such as Chichen Itza or Tulum.

You can get to Lamanai by road, but it's much more enjoyable to split the journey in two by first driving for an hour north from Belize City and then taking a small boat another hour up the historic trade route of the New River, splashing past exotic wading birds, baby alligators, sleeping bats and the occasional fishermen waiting patiently for a nibble.

Some visitors head out in small groups. Others come in larger numbers from the cruise ships that dock in Belize City each week.

Just before we arrive at Lamanai, we get a first glimpse of grey-black stones poking just above the tree line along the river. It's not until we follow the short trail inland that we realize how enormous this majestic Mayan ruin is.

The High Temple alone is 35 metres, or 10 storeys, tall. Nearby is the Temple of the Jaguar Masks, the Mask Temple, and the Ball Court, all of which are must-sees with hardly any crowds. Wait for just a minute or less and you can find yourself all alone — lost in thought about what life was like here long ago.

Next we move on to Stella 9 at Lamanai, which contains a part of a carving and hieroglyphs (or "glyphs") about Mayan life that our guide says is "a masterpiece carved in stone."

Suddenly the wind in the trees blows and a howling monkey makes an eerie racket that suggests perhaps we should not linger too long in this mystical place.

A Mayan settlement for about 3,000 years, Lamanai — which means submerged crocodile — was home for some 60,000 people and was part of a civilization whose traces can still be found in parts of modern-day Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and Belize.

Lamanai was rediscovered in the 1970s and over the years archeologists, including Canadian David Pendergrast from the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, have been busy mapping, uncovering and decoding it all.

Learning about Lamanai and other Mayan ruins in Belize "is like peeling back the layers of an onion," explains our guide, Wilfredo Novelo.

What's been found so far has made it one of the most impressive in Belize, along with other Mayan ruins including Altun Ha, Cahal Pech, and Xunantunich, which Prince Harry visited on March 3.

"It's simply amazing that they found all of this at Lamanai just 25 years ago," a woman from Massachusetts says.

Also amazing is that visitors to Lamanai can do something that's increasingly forbidden elsewhere: climb to the very top of an ancient Mayan ruin. It's a one-of-a-kind experience that shouldn't be missed, even if the ascent on prehistoric stone steps is somewhat perilous.

We carefully navigate our way up the steep structure and then back down again, with only a rope to steady us while a warm sun shines down.

It's like making a trip back in time, a little off the beaten track and well worth the while.

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Mike Karapita is a freelance travel writer based in Toronto.

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If You Go...

For more information, visit Belize Tourism Board, www.travelbelize.org.