Month: March 2024

Placencia, Best Beach Destination to visit in Belize 

With more than 400 offshore islands and 200 miles of Caribbean coastline, it can be difficult agreeing on which beach in Belize is the most beautiful.

Much of the country is pristine and untouched, brimming with wildlife and gorgeous flowering plants, so finding the ultimate beach destination in Belize isn’t easy. Add in the fact that the islands have their own inescapable charm, many of the beaches front gorgeous mangrove-lined lagoons, and stretches of white sand are common, making crowning one beach the best an extremely difficult task.

But after carefully reviewing all of its features, benefits, and location, the beaches that reign supreme in Belize are found on the Placencia Peninsula.

The Island You Can Walk To

In Belize, islands are known as “cayes” (pronounced “keys”), and Placencia is often called “The caye you can walk to.” Except for a narrow strip of land measuring just half a mile wide, the Placencia Peninsula is separated from the rest of the mainland in the southeastern part of the country.

Placencia was given its name by the Spaniards, who called this lovely 16-mile long strip of land “Punta Placencia” or “Pleasant Point,” an apt name. Less than a mile wide, the western edge of Placencia is a pristine, mangrove-lined lagoon teeming with fish, birds, and wildlife. On the eastern shore, Placencia fronts the beautiful Caribbean Sea.

Only around 1,500 people live full-time in Placencia, so the peninsula has retained much of its idyllic charm. Most locals are employed in traditional occupations of fishing or farming. There are two villages in Placencia, Seine Beight, a community primarily inhabited by the Garifuna people, and Placencia Village at the southern tip.

Placencia Village serves as the unofficial capital of the peninsula and is the holder of the Guinness Book of World Records title for the smallest main street on the planet, a 4,000 foot-long pedestrian-only sidewalk renowned for its lovely shops, boutique coffee houses, and colorful street murals.

Placencia Village also serves as the gateway to the Belize Barrier Reef.

Adventures Abound

Placencia is a great place to stroll along the beach or enjoy a swim, but it’s also famous for being the access point to the islands of the Belize Barrier Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with many protected national parks and marine reserves. The reef abounds with spectacular places to scuba dive, snorkel, fish, and sail.

Placencia’s beaches are formed of pure white sand and offer enough space that you can easily find a secluded spot to relax and unwind or simply admire the stunning views.

Chabil Mar

Chabil Mar is an award-winning resort located on the Caribbean coast of the Placencia Peninsula in southern Belize. Chabil Mar features elegantly appointed villas, a gourmet restaurant, a lush tropical garden, and a seafront pier ideal for enjoying meals under the stars.

The resort is conveniently located just a few miles from the Belize Barrier Reef and offer guests Belize vacation packages that include scuba diving and snorkeling on the reef. Chabil Mar also organizes diving and snorkeling tours during the springtime to see migrating whale sharks that visit Belize each year near Gladden Spit on the reef.

Visit our website chabilmarvillas.com for more information on Belize, and don’t hesitate to send us an email, or call US/CAN Toll Free: 1-866-417-2377, Local: (011-501) 523-3606, if you have questions or need help in planning a Belize vacation.

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Many people think that the culture which built all of the pyramids, palaces, and colossal stone cities in Belize and other areas of Central America are long gone. But there are more than six million Maya people living in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras, and they have preserved much of their heritage.

Today, the largest concentration of Maya people are in Mexico’s southern Yucatan Peninsula and southern Belize. Indeed, there are three different distinct groups of Maya in Belize known by their dialect, called the Yucatec, Kekchi, and Mopan. The Yucatec Maya emigrated from Mexico in the 19th century while the Mopan and Kekchi are the original inhabitants of Belize. And while most Maya in the region speak Spanish, most of the Maya in Belize are fluent in Spanish and English as well as their native tongue.

It’s often presumed that the collapse of the Maya civilization occurred as the result of the Spanish invading and conquering Central America. In reality, something occurred around the year 900 AD, long before the arrival of any Europeans in the area, and the Maya civilization self-destructed, the majority of cities becoming abandoned and left to the jungle. No one is quite sure why this occurred, but the latest research speculates that a combination of climate change and civil war was to blame.

The ancient Maya civilization was never ruled by one king or emperor. Instead, it was a loose confederation of independent kingdoms that were often at war with one another. The Maya civilization was, however, quite tight-knit, bound by a vast trade network, common language, and common religious beliefs. Many legends still abound about the Maya because their ancient hieroglyphic writing was undecipherable until recently. Today, archeologists are slowly piecing together a much more comprehensive history of the ancient Maya including titanic battles between legendary rulers in places like Xunantunich, Caracol, and Tikal (the latter is located just across the border in Guatemala).

And while the early Europeans did their best to “civilize” the Maya and eradicate their ancient culture, many Maya were living in remote, rural areas and thus escaped the wrath of the Spanish. As such, the Maya have preserved ancient dances like the Dance of the Deer, traditional foods like chocolate and corn, and textile skills.

If you’re interested in visiting ancient Maya sites or learning more about Maya culture, one of the best places to stay is Chabil Mar. Located in southern Belize, Chabil Mar is an award-winning luxury resort that offers cultural tours to learn more about the people, music, food, and cultures in Belize.

The Maya Ruins of Caracol

Caracol is one of the most interesting and well-preserved ancient Maya sites in Belize. Previously known as Uxwitza (“Three Water Hill”) to the ancient Maya, the current name of the site was coined in 1938 when the local British head archeologist dubbed it Caracol (Spanish for “Snail Shell”) on account of the curving access road that leads to the site.

Far bigger than even Belize City, Caracol once housed up to 180,000 people at the height of the city’s power. Caracol dominated the ancient Maya geopolitical world, variously allying or fighting against other city-states, including Naranjo and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Tikal that is currently located just across the border in neighboring Guatemala.

The most famous building in Caracol is the Canaa (“Sky Palace). An enormous period that contains four palaces and three temples, Canaa is still the tallest building in the country at 141 feet (43 meters) high. Other important buildings and items discovered in Caracol include 24 religious altars, three large ball court, five big plazas, 24 carved stelae, reservoirs, causeways, and a very advanced astronomical observatory. A total of 35,000 lesser buildings have also been identified in Caracol along with more than 100 tombs.

Due to its enormous footprint (some 75 square miles), much of Caracol is still awaiting further excavation. A 2009 aerial survey was used to create a 3D map of how the city stands, including large sections of causeway and agricultural terraces that still lie buried in the jungle. The remote location of Caracol in the foothills of the Maya Mountains in southwest Belize also add to the difficulty of performing large-scale archeological work.

Caracol rose to the height of its power during the Maya classic period but the city seems to have been abandoned around the year 1050 for unknown reasons relating to the wide scale collapse of Maya civilization in the area. Once reclaimed by the jungle, the city was accidentally rediscovered in 1938 by a local logger named Rosa Mai who was in the area searching for mahogany trees.

Today, Caracol is located approximately 25 miles south of San Ignacio in the western Cayo District of Belize. The site of Caracol is within the Chiquibul Forest Reserve and is surrounded by both primary and secondary tropical rain forest. The abundance of carved stelae, altars, markers in ball courts, walls, and capstones have allowed archaeologists to accurately document the history of the city, including a monumental military victory of Tikal in the year 562 AD.

Chabil Mar in Placencia Belize & Caracol Mayan Ruins

Chabil Mar resort on the Placencia Peninsula is close to all of the most exciting mainland destinations in Belize. Guests of the resort can include a visit to Caracol Mayan Ruins as part of one of Chabil Mar’s fantastic Belize Reef & Jungle vacation packages.

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Visit our website chabilmarvillas.com for more information on Belize, and don’t hesitate to send us an email, or call US/CAN Toll Free: 1-866-417-2377, Local: (011-501) 523-3606, if you have questions or need help in planning a Belize vacation.

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