Ruta Maya – Part 16
This is Part 16 of a series of articles on the Aztec and Mayan Pyramids and ruins in Central America. Updated Sep 2022.
Xunantunich
Xunantunich (pronounced Shoon-An-Tu-nich), is a medium-sized Mayan archaeological site located in Belize, just one km (0.6 mile) from the border with Guatemala. It is just a short taxi ride from San Ignacio, Belize. Many people stop here on their way to or from Tikal in Guatemala.
You can read about my visit to Tikal here.
The taxi will drop you off on the bank of the Mopan River, across from Xuanantunich. From there, you need to take a little ferry across the river. The ferry is powered by a man, hand-cranking the vessel along a cable that is stretched across the river. This must be hard work later in the day when it gets hot. Once on the other side, you walk about one km to the ruins.
Xunantunich has six plazas which are surrounded by temples and plazas. It has one pyramid.
Several structures are still buried under a thousand years of dirt and plants.
El Castillo
At 40 metres (130 ft), El Castillo is the second tallest structure in Belize, after the temple at Caracol.
What makes Xunantunich unique is the marvellous friezes on the sides of this temple. Sadly, most of the structure is in ruins. However, large patches of carvings remain. The carvings originally covered all four sides of the temple, but most of it has fallen over the centuries, leaving only two large sections on the sides. Still, it is lovely to see. One can easily imagine what a beautiful structure it must have been when it was new and painted. The friezes depict Mayan gods and other religious symbols.
Monkeys and Birds
We saw several monkeys in the trees near the temple. The Mayan ruins are great places to look for monkeys, birds and other jungle critters.
The Ruta Maya
The Ruta Maya is a tour of Central America’s Aztec and Mayan ruins. I have posted stories and photos from the 16 best archaeological sites I have visited. This is not a complete tour of the Ruta Maya. There are still a few sites that I have not seen, including Monte Alban in Chiapas, Mexico and Copan in Honduras. I may get around to visiting these sites, but this ends my tour of the Ruta Maya for now.
You can visit my previous 15 stops on the Ruta Maya by clicking here or on Ruta Maya in the main menu.