Last Updated on: 21st May 2024, 12:54 am
Lamanai was one of the longest continually inhabited cities of the Mayan world. And its three grand pyramids reveal how important it must’ve been in its prime. Located in central Belize, most people get to the Lamanai ruins via boat tour from Orange Walk. And in this guide, we’ll be going over everything you can expect from the day trip.
For more information on arranging a boat tour to Lamanai and where to stay in Orange Walk, be sure to check the end of the article.
Lamanai, which means ‘Submerged Crocodile,’ is estimated to have been occupied since around 1,000 BC. But the structures date back to around 600 BC, while construction started on the pyramids we see today from around 100 BC. The city would then remain inhabited until the arrival of the Spanish – and even beyond.
Despite many Mayans having converted to Christianity, the Spanish were driven out of Belize in the mid-17th century. And many of Lamanai’s old traditions would temporarily be revived.
Incredibly, archaeologists estimate that Belize was once home to over a million Mayan inhabitants. The total population of Belize today? About 400,000.
While there’s no doubt that Belize is home to some hugely significant Mayan ruins, those coming from Mexico shouldn’t expect to see the same level of excavation. Despite being one of Belize’s most-visited archaeological sites, Lamanai today consists of just a few plazas, though the original city was clearly much larger.
With that said, archaeology enthusiasts visiting the country shouldn’t pass up on the opportunity to see Lamanai, while there’s also a high chance of spotting wildlife.
Along The New River Lagoon
Getting to Lamanai is an experience in itself. While the closest town to the archaeological site is Orange Walk, Lamanai’s remote location means it’s most easily accessed via riverboat.
So even if you’re more of an independent traveler, an organized tour will be the only reasonable option for most. Otherwise, the site is technically accessible by road, though a 4×4 would be a must.
While I was based in Orange Walk, most of the other members of my tour group were coming from Belize City or the coast. That means that you should be able to arrange a Lamanai boat tour from just about anywhere.
Your tour will include transport to the boat dock area, where you’ll have to wait for all the other passengers to show up. Finally, we got going a little before 10:00.
Learn more about arranging a boat tour below.
The journey along the New River Lagoon is quite relaxing, though it went on considerably longer than I’d expected. It took around an hour and twenty minutes each way. While you’ll mostly just be looking at trees, you will pass a few interesting landmarks along the way.
Near the beginning of the journey, you’ll encounter a compound that once belonged to none other than the late John McAfee. Learn more about his misadventures in Belize here.
Closer to the ruins, we also passed by a prominent Mennonite community. There are about 12,000 Mennonites in Belize, and they maintain their own language (Plautdietsch) and can easily be recognized for their distinctive dress.
Touring The Lamanai Ruins
Finally, we’d made it. All boat tours to Lamanai should include lunch. But, while I was under the impression that we’d be eating upon arrival, lunch wouldn’t be served until the end. Therefore, it would be wise to bring some snacks just in case.
After a quick stop to use the restrooms and admire a typical wooden Mayan home, it was time for the tour to begin. We’d start by heading north down a long nature trail, during which our guide talked about the flora and fauna of the area.
While certainly interesting, it wasn’t quite what I’d signed up for. It would be fine to hear a guide talk about plants for 20-30 minutes if we’d still get to see the entirety of the site. But as I’d later find out, we’d end up completely skipping some significant structures.
One memorable highlight from the beginning of the tour was encountering a large tarantula! These arachnids are abundant throughout Belize, though they generally wait until nighttime to go out wandering. Noticing a nest, our guide provoked one to come out so that we could see it from up close.
The Temple of The Masks
Eventually, we arrived at the Temple of the Masks – arguably Lamanai’s most well-known structure. The original incarnation of the temple dates back to 100 BC, while the pyramid was then greatly modified and expanded around 450 AD.
The pyramid originally featured four large masks in total. But at one point or another, it was common for Mayan pyramids to undergo extensive remodeling. And during the Late Classic Period, the upper masks were destroyed while the lower ones were built over.
Luckily, this outer layer of construction would inadvertently preserve the masks for archaeologists to discover centuries later. As mentioned above, Lamanai means ‘Submerged Crocodile,’ so it’s fitting that the masks here are adorned with crocodile headdresses.
Lamanai’s Pyramid of the Masks is one of just a handful of pyramids in the Mayan world with its masks preserved. But who do these faces depict?
Notably, the masks are believed to depict former rulers of Lamanai. This is in contrast to masks at pyramids like Kohunlich and Acanceh (both in Mexico) that are said to represent Kinich Ahau, the Yucatec Mayan Sun God.
According to our guide, this is the only depiction of historical rulers in this manner at any Mayan site. One could liken these faces, therefore, to the monolithic Olmec heads which are also believed to depict historical kings rather than gods.
The Olmecs, of course, are widely regarded as the Mesoamarican ‘mother civilization.’ They were the first to invent pyramids, the classic ball game and the calendar system that would later be adopted by civilizations like the Maya.
At least that’s what’s widely believed throughout mainstream academia. But as I’d learn on this day, some Belizieans have a different take.
Our guide claimed that Maya civilization predates the Olmec civilization, and that evidence of this can be found at two particular sites near Orange Walk: Colha and Cuello.
While Colha is off-limits to the public, Cuello is open to visitors. And the site contains a small pyramid that early archaeologists once estimated to be as old as 2600 BC! That would make it about as old as the pyramids of Giza!
While I’d hoped to visit Cuello, it’s located on land owned by the Cuello Rum Distillery. And while they do allow visits, I’d only have the chance to go on a Saturday but was told that only weekdays were possible.
But anyway, back to the Temple of the Masks at Lamanai. Unlike many prominent archaeological sites in Mexico, this pyramid – along with many others throughout Belize – is climbable.
Most people use the path to the side of the pyramid, though it is possible to climb up the steep staircase in the front.
By the 15th century, this pyramid would be left to rot and decay, though archaeological evidence suggests that religious pilgrims continued to visit the area to perform rituals.
The High Temple Complex
Next, we headed southwest, arriving at the High Temple and the complex of buildings in front of it. While lacking the ornate decorations of the Temple of the Masks, the sheer size of this pyramid reveals what a powerful city Lamanai must’ve been.
Construction began on the pyramid around 100 AD, after which it was gradually expanded over the years.
Standing at 33 m high, it’s the tallest structure at Lamanai. (For reference, the highest pyramid in Belize is at Caracol and stands at about 42 m high).
Of the three main pyramids at Lamanai, this is the only one that’s not climbable due to an injury once sustained here by a tourist.
In the center of the pyramid, you can make out the remnants of masks which were possibly removed at some point. One wonders if these would’ve depicted historical rulers as well.
The large plaza in front of the High Temple is home to various other structures, some of which have only been partially excavated, or not at all. Of special interest here is the Ball Court.
Ball Courts, where the highly ritualistic and symbolic Mesoamerican Ball Game was played, are present at pretty much every Mayan site. But this one is a bit special.
A ceramic vessel was discovered underneath the court marker that contained liquid mercury – the only such discovery at any Mayan site. The exact reason for its burial here remains a mystery, other than the likelihood that it was left as some kind of offering.
At the far end of the complex is a partially excavated temple on which little information seems to exist. But we’d end up lingering for a while at the High Temple Complex for another reason.
When exploring the jungle ruins of Belize, there’s a high chance you’ll encounter some howler monkeys. And a family came right up to us during our visit.
Howler monkeys can be found throughout Mexico and Central America. And while there are various species of these monkeys, the ones found in Belize are regarded as the loudest!
But as intimidating as they sound, they are actually pretty cute when seen up from up close.
While I didn’t realize it at the time, just a couple of minutes on foot from the High Temple Complex is the Temple of the Stela, a well-preserved temple where an important stela was discovered.
Looking at the map, we easily could’ve passed by it on the way to our next destination, the Jaguar Temple. But for whatever reason, our guide took us down another path, completely bypassing it.
We would, at least, briefly stop to see the former boundary walls of the High Temple Complex.
The Royal Complex
As mentioned, our guide took us directly to the Jaguar Temple at the southern end of the site. But while waiting for another group to get down from the pyramid, I noticed some interesting buildings nearby. And so I decided to break off from the group and explore.
This area turned out to be the Royal Complex. As the name suggests, this was likely a residential complex for the Lamanai elite. Interestingly, various platforms here surround a large sunken plaza.
You can still see the foundations of some of the building walls which would’ve been constructed with limestone from a local quarry. But from the 9th century, Lamanai”s inhabitants began using a lot more wood than stone.
It’s still baffling to me that our guide didn’t mention anything about the Royal Complex, and I was the only member of our group who ended up seeing it. This is why I always prefer visiting archaeological sites independently whenever possible.
The Jaguar Temple
Returning to the Jaguar Temple, several different tour groups were still converged here, but I just managed to snap a photo with nobody in the way.
Construction on this pyramid was initiated around 500 AD, while it was later refurbished in the 13th century. But pottery fragments indicate activity here until as late as the 16th century.
The seven-tiered pyramid rises up to 29 m. And the structure takes its name from the remnants of two large jaguar masks at either side of the staircase. Like the Olmecs, the Mayans commonly used jaguar imagery to symbolize royalty.
Finally, it was time to return to the entrance area and have lunch – a simple yet tasty meal of rice and chicken. And before departure, we’d have about twenty minutes of free time, which most of us used to check out the on-site museum.
The Museum
The most notable item on display here is Stela 9 which was found at the Temple of the Stela (the structure we didn’t see for some reason). It’s the best preserved of all the stelae discovered at Lamanai. And while the text is incomplete, glyphs date it to the 7th century AD.
Having traveled to various Mayan sites across Mexico, it was somewhat surreal to encounter an on-site archaeological museum that was completely in English.
And when reading the text, I came across something that mirrored what our guide had mentioned about the Olmecs. One placard rightfully labels theories of the Mayan civilization having been influenced by travelers from across the Atlantic, or even extra-terrestrials, as ‘extreme diffusionist theories.’
But it then goes on to say:
Less extreme diffusionists propose that civilization was first developed in highland Mesoamerica and subsequently introduced into the Maya lowlands. Several Mexicanists have also argued that the Olmec represent the primary complex culture in Mesoamerica and deserve to be considered the ‘cultura madre’ of the Maya, Zapotec, Huastes and other people of the region.
It’s quite interesting to see such a widely agreed-upon theory being dismissed as an argument made by ‘Mexicanists’ and only slightly ‘less extreme’ than ancient alien theories!
Belize, of course, is a tiny country, and perhaps some local archaeologists want to bolster national pride by claiming that not only did Mayan civilization originate here, but Mesoamerican civilization as a whole. While I like to remain open-minded about ancient history, I’d take this with a grain of salt.
Additional Info
If you’re staying in Orange Walk, you should be able to book a boat tour to Lamanai through your hotel or guest house.
That’s what I did, and the tour cost me $110 BZ, or $55 USD. In addition to the boat ride and guided tour of the ruins, the price also included pickup from my hotel, lunch, and the Lamanai entry fee.
As mentioned above, you can still book tours from other towns, though expect to pay a lot more. This highly-rated tour from Belize City, for example, goes for $135 USD at the time of writing.
You can also take this Lamanai day trip from San Ignacio for $200 USD.
As mentioned above, the closest town to the Lamanai ruins is Orange Walk. If you’ll be traveling to Belize overland from Mexico (or vice versa) and want to visit the Lamanai ruins, it makes sense to spend a couple of nights in Orange Walk, Belize’s fourth largest city (though still technically a town), before moving on.
Compared to its neighbors, accommodation in Belize is considerably more expensive. If you’re more of a budget traveler, I recommend staying at Casa Ricky’s. This is where I stayed, and Ricky was very helpful and accommodating with everything, especially when it came to booking my boat tour to Lamanai.
If you’re not on as strict of a budget, consider Lamanai Riverside Retreat or the Banyan Rose.
A large majority of travelers will be heading to Orange Walk from one of two locations: Belize City or the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Coming from Mexico, the easiest way to visit Orange Walk (and Belize as a whole) is to take an ADO bus. The bus originates in Cancún in the morning before gradually making its way down the coast.
In my case, I was already in Chetumal, the city right by the border, and the bus departed at 13:50 in the afternoon and cost $400 MXN. If you’re coming from Bacalar, the bus should depart just a little bit earlier.
Be on your guard at the border, as the Mexican immigration control at Chetumal has a reputation for being corrupt. You’ll likely be asked to pay a tourist tax, though this should’ve already been included in your flight into the country. It would be wise to bring a proof of payment if you don’t want to pay again.
The Belizean border, on the other hand, was smooth and easygoing from my experience. Once on the other side, the ADO bus will come to meet you and continue south until Belize City. If your destination is Orange Walk, be sure to remind the driver, as few tourists actually get off here.
Mexican SIM cards do not work in Belize, so be sure to save your hotel location in an offline map app like Maps.me in advance.
Orange Walk is about two hours from Belize City, and if using public transport, expect to ride in a ‘chicken bus,’ which is essentially just an old American school bus. Tickets are said to cost $3-4 USD.
In my case, when heading onward to Belize City from Orange Walk, I was asked to pay a few dollars (USD) more. I’m still not sure if this was a gringo tax, or if it was a special express bus price, as the bus made almost no stops throughout the journey.