Crocodiles and herons on the way, temples in the forest at the end.
The New River runs slow and dark through the north. From Orange Walk a boat follows it upstream past fishing camps, Mennonite farms and long stretches of forest, with crocodiles on the banks and birds in the trees, to a lagoon where the ruins of Lamanai stand among the forest.
This is how we like people to meet Belize's Maya past: by river, as a stop on the way somewhere, with a guide who knows the birds as well as the temples.
Orange Walk dock
A private boat and guide upriver.Check before you travel
The river
Crocodiles, herons, jacanas, and slow bends of black water.
Lamanai
A walk through the site and up, for the view over the lagoon.
Back by boat
Or on by road to Crooked Tree or Sarteneja.
Sarteneja's wooden sailing dories, the lagoons of Shipstern, and manatees in Corozal Bay.
Turneffe and Lighthouse Reef on your own boat and your own timetable, including the Blue Hole, framed honestly.
