The Maiden of the Rock: Xunantunich - The Mayan Ruin on the border of Belize & Guatemala

in #travel7 years ago (edited)

When I started this Central America trip I wasn´t sure about visiting all the archaeological sites because there are too many and each and every one of them costs at least 5-10 USD to get in. But I really think this is a very important part of history and I really want to experience it first hand, so I thought about making a post about every visit I make and maybe I can get the money back right?

Belize was home to more than 2 million Mayas. It is known as the epicenter of the Maya world. There is more than 10 important Mayan ruins in this small country no more than 9,000 square miles (23,000 sq km).

Xunantunich is one of the most well excavated sites and If I recall correctly, it is the second arquaeological site in size. 

To get to there you have to cross the Mopan river. The very moment I crossed the river I felt the amazing vibe and magic this place has to offer. As it is inside the jungle and there is jungle inside the site, the city noise disappears and you get overwhelmed by jungle noise.

Compared to other Mayan ruins it is quite small but it homes a 133 feet tall building, six mayor plazas and more than 25 temples and palaces.

The government has invested more than 500,000 USD for the excavation of this site.

The entry fee is just 5 USD and to get there you only need to take a bus from San Ignacio for about 3 BZD (2 BZD = 1 USD).

Fortunately I went on a rainy day so the site was virtually empty, I could stay there for a long time and no one was there to bother me. I went with Nina, this German girl I met on the road and happened to also volunteer on the hostel I am volunteering.

Xunantunich was a mayor Mayan city during the classic period, from around 600 AD to 900 AD.

It was first discovered in the 1800 by british Dr. Thomas Gann but it was until 1990 that real money was invested in it and made it an easy access ruin.

The view from the tallest building is amazing. 

I got to see some howling monkeys inside the ruins on the trees!!

This is one of the must visit ruins in Belize definitely.

All pictures were taken amateurly by my canon T5 Rebel.

I went to the ruins but read a lot about it and based my post on some of them, mainly this 2 articles in case you want to read more:

https://www.belize.com/xunantunich-maya-site-belize

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/belize/the-best-ruins

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looks like you're having fun. nice shots.

Ohhh so much fun my friend, you can´t imagine! This kind of posts are sure to be coming more frequently as i am covering all the maya ruins i can in central america! I´ve seen that you´ve read a lot of my posts huh? Im following back @rangertx

Thank you! I will!

cool pictures! resteemed so you can hopefully recoup the price of admission (at least 😉)

Hey man! Thanks for the resteem! It seems it will be paid out if the posts keeps being upvoted! I appreciate it, you got yourself a new follower. Cheers

So awesome! I was there 1 year ago this week! My wife and I loved Belize and would love to go back some day. Thanks for sharing the pictures!

It is awesome right? I also went to Cahal Pech and wanted to go to Caracol but Caracol is too expensive :(
Im glad you liked the post my friend, I will try to keep posting things like this :)

Awesome. I will be looking forward to it. When I get some time I will write something up on our trip. We were doing missions work so we didn't do a lot of sightseeing, but just seeing the ruins was awesome enough.

That is awesome, what an incredible trip you're on :) I'm glad you're photo documenting, the ruins were great to see, the monkeys were freaking cool :)

I just hope i get to be awaken by a monkey howl when im camping somewhere in the jungle, they say it is amazing! I hope to keep posting like this (if holy wifi makes an apparition :D )

Excellent post... Nice photots!

Thanks my riviera maya friend! Im glad you liked it!

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