What are the main cities, towns, communities and developments of the Cayo, Belize, including San Ignacio and Belmopan area and what is each one like?
Penny James - Better in Belize Eco Village
Insider’s Tip: The locals use the term “Cayo” to refer to San Ignacio, Belize. Cayo is also used to refer to the “District of Cayo.” At 5,338 km2 (2,061 sq mi), the District of Cayo spans a large area. Drilling down to the “hub of Cayo” we arrive at the town of San Ignacio. There are four main communities in Cayo, those being the twin towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena, the capital city of Belmopan, and Benque Viejo del...
Insider’s Tip: The locals use the term “Cayo” to refer to San Ignacio, Belize. Cayo is also used to refer to the “District of Cayo.” At 5,338 km2 (2,061 sq mi), the District of Cayo spans a large area. Drilling down to the “hub of Cayo” we arrive at the town of San Ignacio. There are four main communities in Cayo, those being the twin towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena, the capital city of Belmopan, and Benque Viejo del Carmen. All four are Belize towns that are quickly developing.
While San Ignacio is known as the hub of eco-tourism with many tour companies based there, Benque is enjoying a growth spurt, largely due to the initiatives of their Twin Border Tourism. Many people mistakenly peg Benque as a sleepy village, but it’s an artsy, funky border town with very interesting activities and attractions once you scratch the surface. The Benque House of Culture enlivens the village with a myriad of very cool and interesting exhibits and activities – including music played by the Benque Marimba Youth Project. Stonetree Records is here – with legendary producer, Ivan Duran at the helm. “The Garifuna Collective”, world-famous Belize band and Danny Michel, well known Canadian musician have recorded at Stonetree Records. Cubola Books, pioneers in Belize’s book industry, is here. World-famous flutist, Pablo Collado, toots his flute here. Benque recently opened a new farmers’ market and its stadium, the Cancha Marshalleck, is undergoing major renovations and expansion. Unexcavated Mayan ruins have recently been unearthed in Benque, creating quite a stir locally and in the archeological community further afield. The Free Zone, bordering with Guatemala, will also provide shopping opportunities and cheap beer! Tropic Air’s San Ignacio terminal, known locally as the Maya Flats Airstrip, is located between Benque Viejo and San Ignacio. Up to 6 convenient flights daily depart for Belize City and Ambergris Caye. Breakfast in Cayo in the morning and scuba dive in Ambergris Caye in the afternoon!
San Ignacio is often referred to as a town from the “Old West” and, in many ways, this is an accurate description. It is also the city where there is the most nightlife as tourists tend to congregate here due to it being considered the heart of Cayo. Santa Elena gets lumped with San Ignacio, more often than not, as they are sister cities.
Belmopan, Belize’s capital city, features foreign consulates and embassies including the US Embassy in Belize. Belmopan is the city in Cayo where foreigners attend to have their 30-day visitor visas renewed. As the capital city of Belize, many government offices are located in Belmopan including the Government of Belize Lands Department, the seat of real estate land transfers in Belize. Several of Belize’s better known lawyers practice law in Belmopan. There is a Tropic Air terminal located just as you enter Belmopan’s city limits. This air terminal services all areas of Belize. Other highlights of Belmopan include its Tuesday Market Days; the annual 3-day fair at the National Agriculture Show Grounds; and the Football Federation of Belize stadium, the nicest one in Belize for football games. Don’t miss the Amish nursery in Springfield just outside of Belmopan – yes, you can buy strawberries in Belize!
(Horesebacker rider in San Ignacio, Belize, pictured.)
Posted July 23, 2015
John M. Burgos - Belize Tourism Industry Association
San Ignacio sits in the middle of other two towns: Benque Viejo Town and the Santa Elena Town. Santa Elena and San Ignacio are divided by the Macal River, which flows right through the middle. The towns are connected via two bridges and they’re currently building a third bridge to ease the flow of traffic, which should be completed before this year ends. And Belmopan is a little bit more...
San Ignacio sits in the middle of other two towns: Benque Viejo Town and the Santa Elena Town. Santa Elena and San Ignacio are divided by the Macal River, which flows right through the middle. The towns are connected via two bridges and they’re currently building a third bridge to ease the flow of traffic, which should be completed before this year ends. And Belmopan is a little bit more distant. It’s 35 miles from San Ignacio to Belmopan, which is the capital of Belize.
San Ignacio and Santa Elena are basically the same. The only difference is that San Ignacio is a bigger town, in terms of population and commerce. If we join them together, in terms of population and commerce, they’re going to be the second biggest city in Belize.
There are 24 main attractions for tourism in Belize, and Cayo has 16 out of 24 of those destinations. So that alone can let you know how beautiful, how rich with culture, destinations, and adventures Cayo is ands all it has to offer.
Belmopan is the capital city, so Belmopan is where our national government main offices sit. Everything is centralized to Belmopan. When you’re going to be dealing with any documentation or if you want to buy a piece of land you’re going to go to Belmopan. If you’re going to be applying to be a Belizean national you’re going to Belmopan. It’s a very quiet town. It’s well-structured. You can easily move around because it’s properly designed. Belmopan is the only city in the country that was properly planned before it began develop. So you have a great place for vehicles to move around and conduct business, and to set up housing and commercial areas. Belmopan is where the American embassy is located and several others.
Right now there are a lot of projects in Belmopan, especially in infrastructure. They’re trying to build and improve the main roads and the bridges. And the government is also investing a lot in building new recreational facilities – sports centers, cultural presentation venues, and so on. San Ignacio is about 30 minutes away from Belmopan.
The infrastructure projects are not only centralized in Belmopan, however. They’re also being done in Cayo, San Ignacio, Santa Elena, Corozal, Orange Walk; all the different districts will be receiving infrastructure developments.
(Belmopan, Belize, pictured.)
Posted September 4, 2015
Franklin Syrowatka - Better Homes Belize
I would like to discuss three areas of Cayo, which to me, are of great importance. The first is the capital of Belize, which is Belmopan. Belmopan was founded in 1970 after hurricane Hattie devastated Belize City in 1961, which used to be the capital. The government had to make sure that the administration could still work even after a hurricane hits Belize, so they went inland and founded Belmopan, which is now the seat of parliament and government....
I would like to discuss three areas of Cayo, which to me, are of great importance. The first is the capital of Belize, which is Belmopan. Belmopan was founded in 1970 after hurricane Hattie devastated Belize City in 1961, which used to be the capital. The government had to make sure that the administration could still work even after a hurricane hits Belize, so they went inland and founded Belmopan, which is now the seat of parliament and government. Belize City is still the main commercial hub and maybe the cultural center of Belize as a country but the administrative center and the official capital is Belmopan. Belmopan has around 17,000 inhabitants so it’s pretty small. It doesn’t have too much charm because it is a planned community. Most embassies are located in Belmopan although some still remain in Belize City. When you go to Belmopan, you will see a lot of civil servants there. The shops in Belmopan also cater to the diplomats and the international crowd that is there.
The second place of importance is Spanish Lookout where the modern Mennonites live. As soon as you enter Spanish Lookout you feel that the place is very different compared to the rest of Belize. It looks like places in the Mid-Western United States. You find big farms, big farm houses, and everything is manicured. They maintain their own roads so it is a nice change compared to the mediocre roads in the rest of Belize. What is more important though is that Spanish Lookout is a big commercial center where you will find big hardware stores, big tire dealers, auto parts, and all that. For me, as a building contractor, Spanish Lookout is a prime place to go to source my materials. Spanish Lookout has a population of about 2,500 people, almost all of whom are Mennonites.
The third place, which is where I live, are the twin towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena, located in the hills around the Macal River. Although in the Cayo district, this area is also referred to by the locals as “Cayo.” Including the nearby settlements, the twin towns have a population of about 30,000 people, the vast majority being Hispanic. San Ignacio has also the biggest farmers’ market in country, which is held every weekend.
San Ignacio and Santa Elena are older places and not like Belmopan, which was planned on a drafting board. The twin towns just grew over the years so you see lots of little roads and old houses. In recent years, the twin towns got substantial financial support so most of the roads are now paved. There is also a big tourist area in San Ignacio called the Cayo Welcome Center.
San Ignacio is the tourist hub of Cayo because from here, it is easiest to reach all of the attractions such as the caves, the Mayan sites, etc. There is actually one Mayan site on one of the hills of San Ignacio called Cahal Pech. There is another Mayan site close by, called Xunantunich. From San Ignacio, you can easily reach Tikal in Guatemala. You can also visit Caracol, which is the biggest Mayan site in Belize, located up in the mountains two hours away from San Ignacio by car. When you go to Caracol, you will experience difference sub climates because it is up in the mountains. There are different areas with different flora. You can also swim in the waterfalls up there. We built our lodge in in Cayo because it is the inland tourist hub and it is easy for visitors to do all the tours to the nearby attractions.
These three areas are the main places in the Cayo District. Everything else are more or less small villages with around 500 to 3,000 inhabitants. Most of the expats live in the San Ignacio area. The village of Bullet Tree Falls is in high demand because it is on the river and close to San Ignacio but you are still out of town, which many expats find attractive. It is located three miles west of San Ignacio and connected by a paved road.
(Guest at Vanilla Hills Lodge strike a pose at a Mayan temple in Belize, pictured.)
Posted January 9, 2016