When most people visit Belize, it’s for one of two things: diving, or Mayan ruins. In San Ignacio, though, there are a lot of places to visit that can bring you closer to the culture of Belize. There are a couple of awe-inspiring Mayan ruins to see in the city, too. Here are a few fun places I visited during my time there that you might not otherwise see. Also, if you’re planning to travel there, check out my language guide for the country!
Sights to See in San Ignacio
Cahal Pech
Cahal Pech is located within San Ignacio and located right next to a hotel with the same name. It’s a Mayan Archaeological site that you can spend part of a day exploring, accompanied by a gift shop.
Like most Mayan sites, Cahal Pech was a residential area. Any large structures you see were built for elites/ royalty, or exist for administrative reasons. Think like castles, town halls, the White House, that sort of thing. While touring Mayan sites like Cahal Pech, make sure to look out for Eastern buildings. These align with the Sun. Usually you’ll see three separate buildings in a line on an eastern side, which align with the changing positions of the Sun throughout the year.
If you’re in Cahal Pech, pay attention to the different plazas, too. Plaza B is especially large, and was likely intended for public access and use, thus needing space for a lot of people. If you count the number of doors in different areas, you’ll often find 13 of them because the number 13 is important to the Maya.
Like I said, it’s a fairly small site, so you should plan to do some other things on the same day. Maybe you could try visiting another site like Xunantunich.
Xunantunich
Located about 15-20 minutes outside of San Ignacio, Xunantunich (pronounced shoo-nan-tuh-nich) is another Mayan site located in the area. Excavations there are still ongoing through BVAR, an archaeology field school I’ve already spoken at length about. But it’s also a tourist site that you can visit, as a lot of it has already been unveiled and restored.
If you’re taking a vehicle to the site just know there are some extra steps. Xunantunich is across the river from the main road, so there’s a small ferry to bring you across. If you’re in a car, everyone but the driver will have to get out and stand on the ferry. A hand crank takes you across, but it’s a very short trip across the river (about 2 minutes).
The dates for Xunantunich’s construction don’t match up with the time that its architectural styles were popular among Mayans. Archaeologists believe that it was constructed later than many others, copying some styles and structures from other sites.
What’s also interesting is that you can see several layers to some of the structures. It’s common for the Mayans to rebuild new structures on top of old ones. In Xunantunich you can actually see this, since archaeologists excavated into one of the buildings to see if there were layers.
Xunantunich is a pretty large site. It’s full of giant structures to climb and awe-inspiring architecture to see. When you climb to the top of the largest structures and look out across the landscape and buildings, you really do feel like you can reach the Sun, the way Mayans and their royalty intended.
It isn’t a place where you could spend a whole day, so it would be better to plan a trip there alongside other things for the same day.
The Iguana Sanctuary/ Green Iguana Conservation Project
If you’re staying at the San Ignacio Resort Hotel, you’ll probably hear about this place. In fact, it’s located right behind the hotel, and funded by some of its owners!
This sanctuary, created with the intention of saving the green iguana from extinction, is a great place to check out! For a long time in Belize, people hunted green iguanas, especially female ones, for their eggs that were considered a delicacy. It is now illegal to hunt them and eat them in any way, but the green iguanas’ female populations are most at risk. Because of that, many of the iguanas (mostly female) are kept away from human contact so that they don’t get used to our presence.
Some of the iguanas have injuries that prevent them from surviving in the wild or were pets and are too used to humans. So when you visit the sanctuary, you only see these iguanas. You can hold and even feed them, and you can also learn more about the history and biology of these iguanas!
Cool Shops in San Ignacio
The Ice Cream Shoppe
If you’re looking for a place to get fresh-scooped ice cream, look no further than The Ice Cream Shoppe! Located on West Street, this little shop has delicious ice cream flavors for a great price, and many of their flavors change every day. I went out with friends to this shop almost every day that I was in San Ignacio.
If you’re going to be in the area, make sure to check out their Instagram to see what flavors are available and any deals they might have!
Bakabush Books
This store is packed with books. Going in, I expected it to be bigger or more spacious, but don’t let that dissuade you. If anything, the reason it feels less spacious is because of just how many books it has. If you’re in San Ignacio and find yourself in need of reading material, Bakabush Books should be your go-to. Either way, it’s a nice place to check out if you have some free time or just want to go out on the town.
Ko-Ox Han-Nah (Let’s Go Eat!)
Have you ever tasted watermelon juice? Like, actual juice straight from a watermelon, without the artificial, sugary flavors we get in the US? I tried it here for the first time. It’s delicious and tastes just like a real watermelon.
Ko-Ox Han-Nah, often called Hannah’s, is a little restaurant in San Ignacio with delicious food. I only went there once, but I would have returned if I had the time. I got a beef burrito with watermelon juice and it tasted amazing.
