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A haunt of scuba divers and marine researchers

Belize is a country in Central America located between Guatemala to the west and Mexico to the north. Formerly Belize was known as the colony of British Honduras. It is also the only country in Latin America to have English as it official language rather than Spanish. The country which is situated on the Caribbean has 174 miles (280km) of coastline which constitutes the longest barrier reef in the western hemisphere. The reef has numerous of cays or atolls which contain some of the most spectacular dive sites in the world .Ambergris Cay is the most popular of these sites. Some of the other sites where divers are sure to see stingrays, groupers, parrot fish and barracudas are Lighthouse reef, Turneffe islands, Caulker Caye and St Georges Caye.

Divers and researchers are also intrigued by the ‘Blue Hole’ which is a submerged cave 1000 feet (305m) in width and 412 feet (140m) deep. Belize has numerous archeological wonders as well which are in the form ancient Mayan sites. Belize was one of the important settlements of the Mayan civilization which spread over into Guatemala and Mexico as well. These settlements can be traced back to 200-100BC and there is evidence that it lasted until 700 AD when the mighty Mayan civilization withered away due to reasons unknown. By the 15th century only a few Mayan city states remained and they were often at war with each other.

The most urbanized center in Belize and the city used as the gateway to the dive sites by most travelers is Belize City. This former Mayan fishing village is located on a swamp and offers attractions such as a top notch zoo, the Belize Tourism village, the Mayan site of Altun Ha and a museum apart from outdoor activities such as snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking and fishing.

Belize Blueprints