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Top Attractions in Cayo

Actun Tunichil Muknal

Actun Tunichil Muknal, also known locally as Xibalba or ATM, is a cave in Belize, near San Ignacio, Cayo District, notable as a Maya archaeological site that includes skeletons, ceramics, and stoneware. There are several areas of skeletal remains in the main chamber. The best-known is "The Crystal Maiden", the skeleton of an adolescent, possibly a sacrifice victim, whose bones have been calcified to a sparkling, crystallized appearance. The ceramics at the site are significant partly because they are marked with "kill holes", which indicate that they were used for ceremonial purposes. Many of the Maya artifacts and remains are completely calcified to the cave floor. One artifact, named the "Monkey Pot", is one of just four of its type found in Central America. The Maya also modified cave formations here, in some instances to create altars for the offerings, in others to create silhouettes of faces and animals or to project a shadow image into the cave. The cave is extensively decorated with cave formations in the upper passages. Animal life in the cave includes a large population of bats, large freshwater crabs, crayfish, catfish and other tropical fish. Large invertebrates like Amblypygi and various predatory spiders also inhabit the cave. Agouti and otters may also use the cave. These and many other species are quite common in river caves of this size in Belize. Other Maya archaeological sites in the vicinity are Cahal Pech, Chaa Creek, El Pilar and Xunantunich. Actun Tunichil Muknal should not be confused with Actun Tun Kul in the Chiquibul Cave System.

Guanacaste National Park

Guanacaste National Park is a 50-acre park in central Belize. It is named after a huge Guanacaste tree that escaped being logged because its trunk divided into three bases, reducing its value as timber. Guanacaste National Park is located on the north side of the Western Highway just to the east of the Roaring Creek bridge about 50 miles west of Belize City, in the Cayo District of Belize. In 1973, it was established as a Crown Reserve but finally gained status as a national park in 1990. The park was later put under the responsibility of the Belize Audubon Society. The Guanacaste National Park is the most accessible park of the Belize Audubon Society-managed protected areas. Its proximity to Belizes major cities make it a popular family spot. Public transportation from any nearby city is available to the national park. The park is open to the public only during the day. The Guanacaste National Park is open from 8 am until 4:30 pm. The admission fee is about $1 BZD for citizens and $5 BZD for tourists. There is an educational center, a gift shop, and over two miles of maintained trails. The parks workers recommend that visitors wear long-sleeved shirts, sturdy shoes and pants to avoid contact with poisonous plants. Besides the famous guanacaste tree, this national park is also home to other tree species such as the rain tree, mamey sapote, Brazilian firetree, and Honduras mahogany, Belizes national tree. Belizes reputation for an extensive biodiversity is also evident in the parks wide range of animals that tourists are able to observe. These include the white-tailed deer, jaguarundi, kinkajou, nine-banded armadillo, among countless others. This park is also a favorite for birdwatching. There have been recorded over one hundred different bird species, including the blue-crowned motmot and black-faced antthrush. Other birds seen at Guanacaste Park include the smoky-brown woodpecker, black-headed trogon, red-lored amazon, the magnolia warbler, belted kingfisher, and the bright-rumped attila.

Xunantunich

Xunantunich is an Ancient Maya archaeological site in western Belize, about 80 miles west of Belize City, in the Cayo District. Xunantunich is located atop a ridge above the Mopan River, well within sight of the Guatemala border – which is a mere 1 kilometre to the west. It served as a Maya civic ceremonial center in the Late and Terminal Classic periods to the Belize Valley region. At this time, when the region was at its peak, nearly 200,000 people lived in Belize. Xunantunich’s name means "Stone Woman" in the Maya language, and, like many names given to Maya archaeological sites, is a modern name; the ancient name is currently unknown. The "Stone Woman" refers to the ghost of a woman claimed by several people to inhabit the site, beginning in 1892. She is dressed completely in white, and has fire-red glowing eyes. She generally appears in front of "El Castillo", ascends the stone stairs, and disappears into a stone wall. The first modern explorations of the site were conducted by Thomas Gann in the mid-1890s. Gann moved from Britain and served as the district surgeon and district commissioner of Cayo, British Honduras, starting in 1892. He chose this area to settle in because he had an interest in Mayan archaeology, and he wished to be able to explore the unknown wonders of the indigenous people. Gann’s successor, Sir J. Eric S. Thompson, implemented a more methodical approach, and was able to establish the region’s first ceramic chronology. The main recent archaeological teams to work at Xunantunich and the surrounding region are the Xunantunich Archaeological Project and the Xunantunich Settlement Survey . In 1959-60, the Cambridge Expedition to British Honduras arrived in the colony and its archaeologist member, Euan MacKie, carried out several months of excavation at Xunantunich. He excavated the upper building on Structure A-11 in Group B and a newly discovered residential structure, A-15, just outside the main complex. Using the European method of detailed recording of the stratigraphy of the superficial deposits he was able to infer that both buildings had been shattered by a sudden disaster which marked the end of the Classic period occupation. An earthquake was tentative proposed as the cause; it is inferred purely on the bsis of the excavated evidence, and also on the very damaged state of the top building of Structure A-6 . He was also able to confirm the later part of the pottery sequence constructed by Thompson. The detailed report by MacKie is "Excavations at Xunantunich and Pomona, Belize, in 1959-60". British Archaeological Reports, 251, 1985: Oxford. Farmers that fed the people living in Xunantunich typically lived in small villages, divided into kin-based residential groups. The farms were spread out widely over the landscape, though the center of Xunantunich itself is rather small in comparison. These villages were economically self-sufficient, which may be the reason why Xunantunich lasted as long as they did; they were not dependent on the city to provide for them. Settlement density was relative to soil quality, proximity to rivers, and localized political histories. Since the farmers were long established on their plots of land, they would not want to be involved with a polity that was under constant upheaval due to invading forces and more. Other nearby Maya archaeological sites include Chaa Creek and Cahal Pech, Buenavista del Cayo, and Naranjo.

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