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 Update: Belize Telecommunications Limited (BTL) has a new Numbering
Plan for Belize, effective from May 1, 2002. With this numbering plan, a
new 7-digit number will be applied countrywide, replacing the existing 4
or 5-digit telephone number, plus area code. The new system has no area
codes (similar to the system introduced in Guatemala several years ago).
You'll now need dial the entire 7 digits for all calls whether within
the same area or district or to another area or district. I wish I could
tell you about a simple way to convert the old numbers into the new, but
in many cases the conversion code depends on whether the number is a
landline and on the current area code, or a fixed or mobile cellular
phone. However, here are two ways to find out: You can visit one of two
websites set up for the conversion: and , then click on the New
Numbering Plan icon and type in the old number in the box. If you're
already in Belize you can pick up a booklet listing conversion codes
from any BTL office (locations of the main ones are covered in the Rough
Guide ). BTL introduced this change with very little warning. Certainly
they made no mention of it when I interviewed a member of their customer
service team last year, while researching the current (2nd) edition of
The Rough Guide to Belize . Many businesses had no idea of the
forthcoming change until I told them, sometimes only weeks before May
1st. I've tried using the conversion box on the website and I've found
it (generally) works for landline phones (most numbers in Belize) but
didn't do too well on cell phones. I hope this helps. If you continue to
have problems, contact me at and I'll try to find out the correct number
for you. Please note that most of the numbers listed on this website
have been updated.
-Peter Eltringham
Wedged into the northeastern corner of Central America between Mexico's
Yucatán peninsula and the Petén forests of Guatemala, Belize offers some
of the most breathtaking scenery anywhere in the Caribbean. The country
actually consists of marginally more sea than land, with the dazzling
turquoise shallows and cobalt depths of the longest barrier reef in the
Americas just offshore. Here, beneath the surface, a brilliant,
technicolour world of fish and corals awaits divers and snorkellers.
Scattered along the reef, a chain of islands - known as cayes - protect
the mainland from the ocean swell and offer more than a hint of tropical
paradise. Beyond the reef lie the real jewels in Belize's natural crown
- three of only four coral atolls in the Caribbean.
Belizeans recognize the importance of conservation and their country
boasts a higher proportion of protected land (over 40 percent) than any
other. This has allowed the densely forested interior to remain
relatively untouched, boasting abundant natural attractions, including
the highest waterfall in Central America and the world's only jaguar
reserve. Rich tropical forests support a tremendous range of wildlife ,
including howler and spider monkeys, tapirs and pumas, jabiru storks and
scarlet macaws; spend any time inland and you're sure to see the
national bird, the very visible keel-billed toucan.
Despite being the only Central American country without a volcano,
Belize does have some rugged uplands in the south-central region, where
the Maya Mountains rise to over 1100m. The country's main rivers rise
here, flowing north or east to the Caribbean, forming along the way some
of the largest cave systems in the Americas, few of which have been
fully explored. These caves often bear traces of the Maya civilization
that dominated the area from around 2000 BC until the arrival of the
Spanish. The most obvious remains of this fascinating culture are the
ruins of dozens of ancient cities rising out of the rainforest.
Officially English-speaking , and only gaining full independence from
Britain in 1981, Belize is as much a Caribbean nation as a Latin one,
but one with plenty of distinctively Central American features, above
all a blend of cultures and races that includes Maya, mestizo, African
and European. Spanish is at least as widely spoken as English, but the
rich, lilting Creole is the spoken language understood and used by
almost every Belizean, whatever their first tongue. You'll hear this
everywhere - and though based on English, it's less comprehensible to
outsiders than you might expect.
With far less of a language barrier to overcome than elsewhere in the
region, uncrowded Belize is the ideal first stop on a tour of the
isthmus. And, although it's the second-smallest country in Central
America (slightly larger than El Salvador), the wealth of national parks
and reserves, the numerous small hotels and restaurants, together with
plenty of reliable public transport make Belize an ideal place to travel
independently, giving visitors plenty of scope to explore little-visited
Caribbean islands as well as the heartland of the ancient Maya |
| Belize City |
Belque Viejo |
Blue Creek |
Corozal |
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Update: Belize Telecommunications Limited (BTL) has a new Numbering
Plan for Belize, effective
(Top Destinations) |
The final town in Belize, 2km
before the Guatemalan border, is BENQUE VIEJO DEL CARMEN ,
where Guatemala and Belize combine |
About 4km before San Antonio, at Roy's Cool Spot (where you can get
a meal and a drink), a branch road heads |
South from the border, the road meets the
sea at COROZAL , near the mouth of the New River. The
ancient Maya |
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| Dangriga |
Gales Point |
Hopkins |
Orange Walk |
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| The last stretch of the Hummingbird Highway is flat and relatively
uninteresting; from the junction with the Southern Highway |
At Melinda, 27km past Middlesex and only 14km from Dangriga, an
improved dirt road heads north to the small Creole village of GALES
POINT |
Stretching for more than 3km along a shallow, gently curving bay,
the village of HOPKINS is home to around a thousand Garífuna people |
With a population approaching twenty thousand, ORANGE WALK is the
largest town in the north of Belize and the centre |
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| Placencia |
Punta Gorda |
San Ignacio |
San Antonio |
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| With a population approaching twenty thousand, ORANGE WALK is the
largest town in the north of Belize and the centre of a busy
agricultural region |
The Southern Highway comes to an end in PUNTA GORDA , the last town
in Belize and the heart of the isolated Toledo District , an area |
On the west bank of the Macal River, about 35km from Belmopan, SAN
IGNACIO is a friendly, relaxed town that |
The villagers of SAN ANTONIO are
descendants of Maya refugees who fled the Caste Wars in
Yucatán in 1847; |
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| Serteneja |
Belmopan |
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| Across Chetumal Bay from Corozal, the largely uninhabited Sarteneja
peninsula is covered with dense forests and swamps that support an
amazing |
From Guanacaste Park the Western Highway pushes on towards San
Ignacio and the Guatemalan border, while the Hummingbird Highway |
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