San Ignacio is the largest city in Cayo, and one of Belize's largest towns, with a population of approximately 10,000. It's a convenient location for trips to Belize's most-visited Mayan ruin, Zunantanich; and for excursions to waterfalls, caves, and other attractions in the Pine Ridge forest area. San Ignacio is only 15 miles from the Guatemalan border town of Melchor de Mencos, where visitors can buy beautiful Guatemalan fabric items at low prices.

Xunantunich (the name means "Stone Lady;" Xunantunich is often referred to as "the Maiden of the Rock") is believed to have been built sometime during 150-900 A.D. It contains three ceremonial plazas surrounded by small house mounds, and one of the tallest Mayan structures in Belize, a 135 foot structure known as El Castillo. If you visit Xunantunich with a knowledgeable local guide, he or she may give you a demonstration of the degree of engineering skill that of the Mayans who built this incredible edifice: You will be able to hear words spoken by people standing in certain sections of the plaza hundreds of feet below you!

The archeology team excavating Caracol is led by Arlen and Diane Chase. They have been excavating Caracol since 1985. Their findings have challenged many previously held notions about Mayan civilization and culture. From hieroglypics found on stelae in Caracol, the Chases have determined that Caracol's army defeated the army of Tikal in AD 562, and became the dominant regional power. The Chases also have an answer to the question that has plagued historians and archeologists since the first Mayan ruins began to be uncovered--what happened to the Mayans? Why did they abandon their cities and disappear into the jungles? As a result of their research at Caracol, the Chases believe that warfare became less of a ritual preserved for the elite class and began to permeate the lives of ordinary Mayans, causing them to flee the cities.

The Chases also found women intombed in what were clearly royal tombs. Anthropologists had previously assumed that women played only minor roles in Mayan society, and had even decided that the females represented in Mayan artwork were really males. The findings at Caracol have changed the nature of the debate about Mayan society.

Excavation and research at Caracol proceeds only during the dry season; the dirt road is impassable during the rainy season. During the dry months, visitors are welcome; however, a permit to visit must first be obtained from the Archeology Department in Belmopan. Most local travel agents can arrange for guided tours, as can the resorts in the Cayo District. Visitors can also go on their own if the required permit is obtained; a four wheel drive vehicle in good shape is definitely a requirement. Some resorts offer trips to Caracol on horseback. There are no services of any type at Caracol; that includes food, gasoline and drinking water; visitors must pack in anything they want. It is possible to camp overnight at Tikal, with permission.