After a good night’s sleep (despite the howler monkeys’ 4am wakeup call), we were ready for our first full day of adventure in Belize. Breakfast was our first order of business, specifically getting pancakes for JB. We had failed in our attempt to get pancakes at three different restaurants in the airport and I had promised him that Black Rock Lodge had them on the menu. They did and they ended up being worth the wait. During breakfast, we got the awesome news that Roque would be our guide again today. Pancakes and Roque – this day was off to a great start! Our plan for the day was to visit Xunantunich in the morning, stop for some lunch, and then visit the Green Iguana Project in San Ignacio.
Xunantunich (pronounced shoo-nan-too-nitch) sits high above San Ignacio and the Mopan River and looks out over the Cayo district in one direction and into Guatemala in the other. Built in the 7th century AD, Xunantunich is a relatively small site that survived about 300 years with a maximum population of around 10,000. The site holds 6 plazas and 26 palaces and temples over one square mile. Despite its relatively small size, the site is impressive. The grounds are well groomed, the buildings well excavated, and the detailed friezes well preserved.
Xunantunich means “Maiden of the Rock” or “Stone Lady” in Mayan and refers to the ghost who purportedly inhabits the ancient site. First seen in 1892, the stone woman appears as an apparition dressed in white with glowing red eyes. She is known to climb the stairs of El Castillo and disappear directly into its thick stone walls.
Getting to Xunantunich is an adventure in and of itself, as you have to take a hand-cranked cable ferry across the Mopan River. The ride is free and takes less than 5 minutes, as it literally travels just 50 yards or so across the river. The ferry can take up to 4 vehicles in one trip and a few dozen people. Once you reach the other side, it is less than a mile to the site itself. You can walk, catch a cab, or take your vehicle if you brought it across. We were with our tour guide Roque so we waited for him to drive the truck off and then hopped in and proceeded to the site.
We entered the site and before even reaching the main plaza, both boys found things they were really interested in. JB went off to spy on some green iguanas sunning themselves beneath some trees, and RB was fascinated by the ancient pottery pieces that Roque found amongst the rocks and leaves on the ground. Lots of excitement for the boys before we even entered the main site!
We walked into the main site and were immediately impressed with how manicured the grounds were and how fully excavated many of the buildings were. To our left El Castillo rose high above the site, and to our right were some steps leading to another plaza. Roque pointed us in the direction of the A-3 plaza on the right and the boys quickly took off up the steps to explore.
Plaza A-3 and Structure A-11 were a residential area for the ruling family. This structure appears to have been redesigned over time, as many of the original doorways and stairways had been filled and blocked. The main stairs in front had been removed as well, and Roque led us to a stairway on the backside of the structure that allowed us to climb to the top. From there we had incredible views of Plaza A-1 and El Castillo, as well as beautiful scenery off the backside of the structure.
When we were done admiring the views, we headed back down and towards El Castillo. On our way over we went past an active excavation site. Excavation is ongoing and as recently as 2016 archaeologists made a major discovery at Xunantunich. While excavating a large stairway on a structure, archaeologists discovered what is believed to be the largest royal tomb at any Mayan site. The below-ground chamber held the remains of a 20-30 year old male, as well as jaguar and deer bones and other artifacts including jewelry and pottery.
It is truly amazing to look at sites being excavated and realize how the jungle has completely swallowed them up over thousands of years. Giant mounds of dirt with huge trees growing on top of them can literally hide entire Mayan buildings. The picture of the well-excavated structure below gives some sense of how the trees grow on top of the structures. In many cases, the thousands of years of dirt and underbrush can be cleared away but the tree roots break through the stone structures themselves, compromising the integrity of the structure and making full excavation impossible.
While we were stopped to watch and learn about the excavation, we heard rustling overhead and spotted a group of spider monkeys swinging around in the trees above us. We had seen some near the parking lot as well, but these were a little closer and more active. I think the boys could have spent the rest of the afternoon just watching them jump from tree to tree but they eventually moved further away and we moved on. We had gotten some great close up views of them at the Belize Zoo but this felt like an even more authentic experience to really spot them in the wild.
El Castillo is the most impressive structure in Xunantunich. At 130 feet tall, it is the tallest structure at the site and the second tallest structure in all of Belize. But it isn’t just its size that makes it so impressive; it has two stucco friezes that are well-preserved and fascinating to see. Add on the amazing views of Belize and Guatemala at the top and El Castillo is the clear star of this site.
El Castillo has several different levels that you can climb to. After going up the main steps, you have to circle round to the back of the building to find the steps to the next level. Along the way you are treated to the first of two stucco friezes. The intricate detail of the sculptures is amazing. The carved elements represent various Mayan gods and rulers. (A wonderful exhibit inside the visitor’s center provides a detailed explanation of the different elements of the frieze.) The frieze on this eastern side of the building is more complete than the one on the other side, and at one time the sculpture encircled the entire building.
You can stop at this level for a sneak preview of the view from the top. Despite its height, this structure is relatively easy to climb because it is broken up into different levels, offering its climbers frequent breaks.
This level of the pyramid was a great place to stop for pictures or to take a quick rest in the shady stairwells before heading up the final flight to the top.
At the very top of El Castillo, there are commanding views of jungle, farmland, and cities in both Belize and Guatemala.
But of course the most impressive view is of Xunantunich itself.
We sat for a while at the top and took it all in. It was so peaceful up there. As you can tell from the pictures, there were very few people there and we really felt like we could take our time and appreciate the site.
On the way back down we descended the other side of the structure and saw the western friezes, which are not as complete but still impressive. From the bottom of the steep steps, the view back up to the friezes and the western side of El Castillo was striking.
From there we finished out our tour by visiting the ball courts. While the idea of ball courts piqued the boys interest in theory, the reality was less exciting for them. Roque did a great job explaining the game to the boys – there were sloped walls on either side of the court with a stone ring hanging sideways at the top of each wall. The goal was to pass a rubber ball through the ring without ever using your hands. This was an extremely difficult accomplishment but an important one, since the captain of the losing team was often killed as a human sacrifice. At this point the boys were hot, tired, and losing interest because they couldn’t clearly visualize the game (which I’ll admit I was struggling to do too). Roque quickly wrapped things up and offered to take them back to the parking lot for a drink and snack in the shade while Blair and I checked out the visitors center. Of course the first thing we saw inside was this great depiction of the Maya ball game and I could immediately see how the two grassy slopes we had just been standing between formed the court for the game.
For most of the morning, we had the site practically to ourselves. As we finished up, we saw huge crowds of people just entering the site. There were dozens of individual lines of people 25 deep, each following behind a tour guide. Roque told us that the tour buses from the cruise ships had just arrived, bringing literal bus loads of people to the site. While I am sure cruise ship visitors are good for the Belizean tourism industry and economy, I couldn’t help but think how different our experience would have been if we were just arriving now at the same time as the hoards of people. For us, part of the magic of our visit was the peacefulness that came with it being nearly empty. The cruise ship visitors would be having an entirely different experience. It made me so appreciative that we were in Belize for a deep dive, not just scratching the surface on a 6 hour excursion.
All in all, our visit to Xunantunich was a huge success. We saw an amazing site, learned some fascinating Mayan history, enjoyed spectacular views from the top of El Castillo and even spotted some wildlife (green iguanas, spider monkeys, bats, and more). There was something for each of us and we truly enjoyed our time there. I highly recommend it… just get there before the cruise ship buses arrive!
