Caracol is both the most difficult to reach and the most stunning of all the ruins in Belize. It lives at the end of Mountain Pine Ridge, more than an hour from the nearest signs of civilization, just waiting to be rediscovered.

On the way back from Caracol, you'll get the second part of the tour - Mountain Pine Ridge. Mountain Pine Ridge is, oddly enough, a pine forest in the middle of Belize, full of rivers, caves, waterfalls and trails. Remote and pristine. It may come after the tour of Caracol, but it's definitely not playing second fiddle.

The Ruins

Back in the day, Caracol was pretty much a political power house and the ruins reflect this. They are large - very large. A big part of the amazingness of the place is that it's not totally excavated yet. Several of the larger structures are fully excavated and you can tell where other things are still sleeping soundly beneath the jungle floor. Many of it's areas are still mingling with the surrounding foliage.

Rio On Pools

Rio on Pools is perhaps one of the nicest places in Belize. It's a series of falls and pools that gently make their way toward the edge of the hill it sits on. There are two ways to get to the main part. One is by walking down the little dirt path and the other is you can hop and jump your way up the side of the hill. Option two is way more fun but you might get quite hot, but hey there are pools waiting at the top.

Big Rock Falls

When you arrive at the path to Big Rock Falls, you think, "ah, this is easy, let's go find this water fall." When you get to the path/cliff face that gets you to the bottom of the ravine Big Rack Falls is located, in you think, "that's not too bad." Then you see the water fall and you start diving off the rocks into the basin of the waterfall or just swimming around and having such a good time. Then after having a great time you walk back to the path you just came down, look up and think, "Holy crap!" - but it's well worth the pain.

Rio Frio Cave

Rio Frio Cave is less of a cave and more of a really neat tunnel. It's full of huge formations, stalactites, stalagmites, boulders and other cavey sorts of things. Though it may be a tunnel, you'll still be needing flash lights as it's quite a long tunnel and it's quite dark. It's a really nice, relaxing way to end a long day of wandering around Mayan Ruins, hiking up canyons and swimming in waterfalls.