Belize

Highlights of Belize trips

1. Bird-watching: Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary is a wetland area two hours north of Belize City, and home to nearly 300 species of bird. Spot the jabiru stork, the northern cardinal and the roseate spoonbill while canoeing along the water. Crooked Tree village itself is interesting too, as it's thought to be the earliest European settlement in Belize.

2. Diving and snorkelling: The 124m-deep Great Blue Hole is a must for any diver, with its impressive cave-like hole housing remarkable stalactites in clear waters and bull sharks and hammerheads sometimes spotted swimming among the array of fish. For snorkellers, the Belize Barrier Reef is home to colourful corals, timid turtles and tropical fish.

3. The Community Baboon Sanctuary: Wildlife conservation is important in Belize, and the Community Baboon Sanctuary is home to the endangered black howler monkey, 2000 of which reside in the reserve’s treetops. 

4. Wading into the Mayan underworld: Belize is home to several ancient Mayan monuments but the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave is perhaps the most exciting. Discovered in 1989, it was once a sacred site to the Mayan people who believed that gods resided in the impressive chambers. Human sacrifices were made here and several skeletons and human remains can be found in this vast cave.