"Visiting Altun Ha" Belize District by joiwatani

Altun Ha is one of the many Mayan ruins. The Altun Ha was in existence since 600 BC. This was just recently found (1960s) by a pilot flying on Belize and he reported it to an archaelogical society. From then on, the government of Belize preserved it. But, before then, it was said that the local residents neighboring Altun Ha, was using the stones from the ruins and using them to build their houses. Just imagine how much damage the locals had done to this site knowing that what they got is a part of world history!

The government of Belize tried to restore and preserve the ruins but because of lack of funding, the site remained to be not so accessible to the public.

The Altun Ha is about 34 kilometers from downtown Belize, which means that in American time to travel in the freeway will only take 20-25 minutes but in Belize time, it will take you to travel about two hours.

The roads are rocky and dusty. Unless you rent a van and/or a car, there are no regular buses that go directly to Altun Ha. Most of the buses that go there are chartered by tourist agencies and independent travel guides.

Altun Ha is very beautiful and if you have a chance to go there, make sure to pack food and drinks as the food there is super expensive. Also, bring comfortable shoes as you will be walking with slabs of rocks.

As a tip also, make sure to rent a van that has airconditioning on it.

The experience of visiting a structure that was built a thousand years ago and it is still in existence today is amazing. To think that the structures of Altun Ha withstood harsh weather conditions, earhtquakes, storms, floods, etc for a thousand years and it is still standing tall until today for us new generation and my next generation to see.

My children were so lucky to visit this.

The climb to the Altun Ha was very exhilirating. I was just loving this trip.

• Pros:Great experience to see the Mayan ruins
• Cons:There are no hotels here. It's only a day trip...
• In a nutshell:I would love to come back here and spend more time...