Xunantunich

Me in front of El Castillo.

Hand crank ferry over Mopan River

San Ignacio

San Ignacio from on top of El Castillo

Guetemalan & Belizean Border (see the road)



Top of El Castillo

Frieze on El Castillo

A few weeks ago I visited a Mayan Site called Xunantunich, which is one of the older Mayan Sites to be found in Belize and is very close to the border with Guetemala. In fact if you look at the pictures one shows a road in the distance and that road is the border. To get to the site you have to cross the river on a hand crancked ferry across the Mpoan River, which is fun.

Xunantunich is located across from San Jose Succotz, a few miles from the western border. The partially-excavated and largest pyramid, El Castillo, rises 130 feet above the main plaza and offers an impressive panaramic view of Belize's Cayo District and nearby Guatemala. El Castillo, is known for its frieze, a banded stucco decoration which at one time extended around the entire pyramid. The impressive museum displays a three-dimensional model of the entire Xunantunich site, as well as depicting the evolution of Maya civilization. Three stelae from the site are on display.