One of the temples in this small complex commands the best view of the surrounding Belize River Valley. Included in the find were shell & bone ornaments, pottery vessels, obsidian blades, and jade objects, the most impressive being a jade & shell mosaic mask. Inside the tomb a ruler had been laid to rest with the accouterments necessary for the afterlife. A royal burial chamber was found in one of the structures. The site consists of seven plazas and over 30 structures including temples, residential buildings, ball courts, an altar, and a sweat-house, all situated on just 2 acres. Cahal Pech was settled around 1000 BC and abandoned by 800 AD. However, this was the royal acropolis-palace of an elite Mayan ruling family who lived here during the Classic period. Today, many ethnic Maya continue to live in Belize, particularly in the southern parts of the country.īelize’s most impressive Maya Ruins are: Altun Ha, Xunantunich, and Caracol.įeatured Belize Maya Ruins Cahal Pech Maya RuinsĬahal Pech means “place of ticks” in modern-day Maya, and refers to the fact that the surrounding area was once used as pasture land. Archeologists have found altars, religious carvings, and the remains of sacrificial victims in some of these caves. Some of these cities have been identified from aerial photography but many more remain to be discovered.Ĭaves were important ceremonial sites for the ancient Maya, and many caves in Belize have been discovered filled with artifacts and treasures left behind by Maya priests. In addition to the well-excavated ruins that can be found in Belize such as Caracol, Xunantunich, Lamanai, Nim Li Punit, and Altun Ha, many more other large cities are still awaiting exploration in the jungles and rainforests. The powerful city-states of Belize traded with settlements further inland like Tikal. The Maya used the Belize River as a “super highway” to transport goods throughout the country and connect with the big city-states in Guatemala. Large cities were built that housed hundreds of thousands of people. Maya Ruins in Belizeīelize’s pleasant weather, rich soils, and abundance of marine life in the rivers and estuaries as well as the offshore Belize Barrier Reef fueled a population explosion during the time of the ancient Maya. We offer daily tours to Xunantunich, Caracol, Cahal Pech and Tikal (just across the border in Guatemala). By the time the Europeans arrived on the continent, the Maya civilization was almost completely gone.Ĭahal Pech guided tours include visits to the top Maya cities and religious sites in western Belize. After several millennia of existence, the civilization began to break apart for unknown reasons between 600 to 900 A.D., leaving the once-mighty cities to be swallowed up by the jungle. The ancient Maya civilization surged and ebbed with periods of growth and prosperity mixed with periods of war, civil unrest, and even starvation.

Although the various areas all spoke a common language and shared a common religion, the empire was actually a patchwork of ever-shifting kingdoms and principalities that formed alliances with or went to war against one another.

The land that is now Belize was once the heartland of the ancient Maya Empire. San Ignacio and Private Island Belize Vacation.

Belize Jungle and Sea Adventure Package.

Ancient maya civilization map