A tiny country with so much to offer! This is the tale of the unforgettable Belize, a place with extraordinary blend of tropical waterfalls, ancient Mayan ruins, barrier reef, wildlife reserves and deep limestone caves. For the adventure freaks and the nature admirers, the country has opened avenues for fishing, scuba diving, boating, snorkeling, river rafting, kayaking, hiking, bird watching and helicopter touring.
Belize being amongst one of the world’s richest habitats for flora and fauna has every reason to boast it. Some 4,000 species of different native flowering plants, 700 species of trees with several hundred species of other plants makes is worth visiting. Trees like cashew, coconut, custard apple, guava, mango, papaya, banana, pineapple and Mammee make a common sight. This beautiful place has medicinal plants too in addition to the Mahogany Tree, which is the national tree of the country. The national flower of Belize is the lovely Black Orchid.
Belize houses some of the world’s most renowned National Parks. The Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary located along the Western Highway is a nature reserve encompassing 1,070 acres of mostly pine and cohune palm savanna, tropical gallery forest, freshwater wetlands and lagoons. The Half Moon Caye Natural Monument is located at the southeast corner of Lighthouse Reef is approximately 45 acres in size and is divided into two very distinct ecosystems. It flaunts its dense vegetation, rich soil made fertile by guano from the thousands of sea birds nesting and coconut palms. The Community Baboon Sanctuary, Burdon Cana, Terra Nova, Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Paynes Creek National Park, Glovers Reef Marine Reserve and Blue Hole National Park are amongst other tourist attractions.
The breath-taking caves and waterfalls include St. Herman’s Cave, Rio Frio Cave, Chumpiate Maya Cave, Blue Creek Cave, Hidden Valley Falls, Santa Cruz Falls and Rio On Pools. Belize has many a colorful and stunning marine inhabitants like the living corals, the crabs, shrimp and lobster, the conch in its elegant shell and fishes in unending shapes and sizes. One of the richest ecosystems on the planet, Belize’s reef is punctuated by scores of beautiful islands, sand bores, patch reefs, and various underwater structures that are home to hundreds of animal and plant species, including 220 types of fish and untold hundreds of invertebrates. All these make Belize a perfect ecotourism destination.
