Belize Vacation - Day 5 Altun Ha, Ziplining, Cave Tubing

We always take at least one day on our dive trips for a "land exploration" day. Our day started very early. We had to get to the ferry dock in town by 5:45 am. So, we left our rental house at 5:15 for the golf cart ride to the ferry. Oscar, owner of Celebrity Diving & Customized Tours, met us at the ferry dock with breakfast tacos. He had arranged for a tour guide, Jorge, to meet us in Belize City after the 1.5 hour ferry ride.

Jorge was a wonderful guide. He told us he considered himself to be an ambassador for the beauty of Belize. As he drove through Belize City, he gave us facts about the different neighborhoods, churches, schools, government, landmarks, and culture. Jorge took us to the first site of the tour, Altun Ha. On the way, he stopped at a roadside stand to purchase a local drink, seaweed milk, for us to try. I found it to be an acquired taste.

Travel Belize states, "Altun Ha, an archaeological site 31 miles from Belize City, was a significant ceremonial center in the Maya Culture. Known to archaeologists in 1963, Altun Ha functioned as a central trading link between the Caribbean Coast and Maya Centers in the interior during the Maya Classic Period. The Maya occupied this ancient city from 250 BC to AD 1000 and reached its peak from AD 400 to AD 900, with a population of 8,000 to 10,000 people. Altun Ha is the Yucatec translation for “Rockstone water,” situated near Rockstone Pond along the Old Northern Highway." 

This poster shows an aerial view of the site.

There was a display of the national symbols of Belize near the welcome center - Mahogany tree, Keel-billed Toucan, Black Orchid, Tapir, and the national flag.

Altun Ha contains over 500 identified mounds containing two main complexes with smaller, mostly residential groups located within the site.

Jorge told us that these large structures and other smaller sites are waiting for government funding for excavation and restoration.

Jorge had a great depth of knowledge about the site and the medicinal purposes of all the trees and plants in the area. He picked leaves off of an allspice tree and had us chew on them. Wow, I never realized allspice came from a tree. I thought it was a mixture of different spices/herbs. The leaf tasted just like the allspice powder I have in my home kitchen. 

Jorge told us many stories about the culture and practices of the Mayans of Altun Ha. I wish I could remember all that he told us.

There were a lot of stairs to climb to get to the top of the structures. A royal tomb was discovered under this temple floor. It contained over 300 items made of jade.

This is part of Group A. It is believed to be the early civic and ceremonial core of the site. The structures here are arranged around a large plaza.

We were very lucky with the timing of our visit. There were less than 10 other people at the ruins. When we were driving back out to the main road after our visit, we passed five buses from cruise ship excursions heading towards the entrance to Altun Ha.

The face on this side of the ruin is mostly intact. It's counterpart on the other side of the tomb has weathered away.

This is the most important structure at the site, building B4. The sign at its base says it is called the Temple of Sun God. The largest jade object from the Mayan world was found in this temple. It was a carved jade head of the Sun God, Kinich Ahau. The carving weighed about 11 pounds and it is kept under lock and key in the Belize Central Bank. There is a replica of the mask in the visitor's center.

There was a path of stairs at the back for visitors to use to climb to the top. It is 55 feet tall. We climbed to the top and it had a spectacular view.

This is the view looking down over the edge from the top of the Temple of Sun God. It made me nervous to get close to the edge. It was a scary drop. See how tiny those people on the ground look?

The stairs on the way down were not quite as steep as the set of stairs we used on the way up.

I am so glad we visited Altun Ha. We toured Chichen Itza several years ago and I really wished to be able to climb to the top of the structues. It was really neat to get to the top of several structures in Altun Ha.

We left Altun Ha to drive to our next destination - Nohoch Che'en Caves Branch Archaeological Reserve for ziplining and cave tubing. My husband and I went on a similar tour when we came to Belize in 2017. They have really changed the zipline route. Back then, there was a steep hike between each zipline platform. Now, there is a shorter (but still steep) hike to the first platform and then you travel from platform to platform for each ziplines. There were four zipline on this visit and six ziplines on our last visit. Hand break ziplines always make me a bit nervous about running into a tree at the end. I did not run into a tree but I did bang into the zipline guide at the end of the zipline across the river.

Ready to go at the first platform, but not ready to smile.

It was a great area. I enjoyed ziplining through the jungle trees and crossing above the river.

We all had a good time and made it to the end with no incidents.

We had a traditional Belizean lunch in between ziplining and cave tubing. We were served barbecue chicken, rice mixed with beans, coleslaw, and a spicy sauce.

The last part of our adventure was the jungle walk and cave tubing tour.

We spent about 40 minutes on the trail to the cave opening. Jorge shared information about the majority of the trees and plants we passed. He told which plants heal, harm, and poison you. It was a peaceful walk listening to the sounds of nature. There were howler monkeys in the trees near the start of our walk. Wow, are they loud!

We were excited to finally get to the cave. 

There were lots of stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and bats throughout the cave. Some areas were lit by various openings and some areas were pitch black without the little headlamps on our helmets. The ceiling of the cave is quite high so you never really felt closed in while tubing through it.

When we got to the little waterfall area, Jorge pushed each of us under the waterfall. That water was COLD.

The last time I went on this cave tour, we stayed in our tubes the entire time. This time, we spent time walking around and exploring different areas of the cave. Man, was that tough on my knees. The footing was very uneven and it was really dark in places. I was so thankful for my little head lamp. 

Jorge told us about the formations of the cave, different rock formations, the history of events that have occurred in the area, and the Maya pottery and archeological finds in the cave. 

Boogs took several video during our cave tour. Jorge brought us to this ledge and asked if we wanted to jump in and then swim through a few narrrow tunnels. We trusted our guide and of course we said YES.

We swam in the cave for about 10 to 15 minutes. The water was cold and refreshing.

Boogs took this video of swimming through the cave tunnels. There were several off chutes from where we were following our guide. It was pitch black without our lights. I made sure to keep up and not get lost in the tunnels. 

It was an amazing adventure. I am so glad we were able to wander through the cave like that. I as very thankful that Jorge had a really bright light to follow.

We continued walking through the cave and went up SO many steps.

Lots and lots of staircases.

We walked out into the sunlight for a bit then back into the darkness of the cave. There was one more jumping in spot and a short swim back to our tubes before we continued floating toward the end of the cave.

The last part of the tubing adventure was a slow, lazy ride down the river. The boys were out in front.

My husband enjoyed the warmth of the sunlight.

I have to occasionally have a picture taken of myself as proof that I was there, too.

We experienced various levels of adventure and peacefulness throughout the day. The boys said this day just about tied with their experience of scuba diving 135 feet deep into the Great Blue Hole.

Jorge drove like a maniac to get us back to the ferry dock in time for the last ferry. I was genuinely afraid on our 1.5 hour car ride back to Belize City. We made it to the ferry with 15 minutes to spare. We were lucky. It was crowded, some people waiting were unable to make the last ferry. 

What a great day! Belize has so much to offer a visitor - underwater adventures, cultural explorations, natural and manmade wonders, great food, friendly people, relaxation, and adventure.