Culture & Nature
Cultural & Sightseeing Tours
Belize Cultural Sightseeing Tours
Any of the Belize Cultural & Sightseeing tours below can be done as stand-alone tours, add-ons or can be added together to create your own customized tour.
Mountain Pine Ridge Adventure
Within the reserve lies the crown gem of the forest, the Hidden Valley Falls. Also known as Thousand-Foot Falls, at a soaring 1600-feet high, this is the tallest waterfall in Central America! It’s a magnificent sight to see up close or from afar. Travelers can swim in the pool at the bottom of the falls or enjoy its beauty from afar at the viewing station.
Also part of the reserve is the Rio Frio cave and the Rio On Pools. After a trip to the falls, we’ll drive to the Rio Frio (cold river) and hike through the cavernous tunnel that runs alongside the river. Once we emerge from the cave, there will be a short hike through the jungle back to our transportation. After all that excitement, you’ll like want to relax a bit. We’ll take you straight to the Rio On pools and cascades where you can rejuvenate. The natural pools and jacuzzi are fed by the surrounding waterfalls, which creates a serene setting after a perfect day of adventure.
Tour Departs: 8 a.m., Full Day Tour
Drive Time: 2.5 hours each way
What to wear/bring: Shorts, t-shirt, hiking shoes or good sandals for walking, hat, swimsuit, beach towel, sunglasses, sunscreen, bug repellent, US or BZ dollars for petty cash.
Not Included: Entry Fees, Lunch.
Belize Botanical Gardens
Sights / Easy
The Botanical Gardens offer many ways to interact with the exotic plant world of Belize. Enjoy two miles of trails to experience a variety of native and exotic fruits, palms, hardwoods, ornamentals, and more. You can go at your own pace with a self-guiding booklet, that shares information on many of the plants you will encounter.
Green Iguana Conservation Project
Sights / Easy
The Green Iguana Conservation Project is a highly interactive exhibit that aims to conserve and educate visitors about the indigenous Green Iguana and its role within the river habitat in Belize. You will a chance to get up close and personal with these fascinating reptiles and learn more about them. Wonderful trip for youngsters!! Duration is about 1-1.5 hours.
Ajaw Chocolate Tour
Sights / Easy
Calling all chocolate lovers! This tour is for you. According to archaeologists, the Maya were making chocolate from before 2500 BC. It is hard to believe a bitter, hard-shelled, tropical fruit can become such a luscious treat. But the Mayans believed it was the Food of the Gods and they were right! Chocolate was a currency and exchanged by the ancient Maya in Belize for valuable entities that are not indigenous to Belize, like jade. Now you can visit a Maya family in the nearby town of San Ignacio and learn about the culture, the tradition, and the process. Duration is about 2 hours.
Market Day in San Ignacio
(Available On Saturdays Only)
Sights / Easy
Start your Saturday morning at the San Ignacio Market. Rural farmers and townsfolk descend on the market square every Saturday, making it a great chance to experience the local culture up close. From Mennonites selling local cheese, to medicine men selling herbal cures – you will see it all! You may even spy our cook doing her shopping for the freshest local vegetables and fruits. Sample local snacks – tacos, pupusas, or have some refreshing coconut water while you wander around the market taking in the sights and smells.
NOTE: Black Rock Lodge can also drop off guests to explore on their own and pre-arrange pickup. Paying for only transfers.
The Belize Zoo
The Belize Zoo is one of the most ecologically sound zoos in the world and has a large cross section of fauna and wildlife. Here you’ll encounter crocodiles, jaguars, scarlet macaws, and other exotic creatures like the kinkajous and stinky peccaries. The best part of seeing these adorable animals is that a majority of them are were rescued from unfavorable situations making it in fact more of a sanctuary than a zoo. Sharon Matola who started the zoo has managed to re-create each animals’ natural environment as much as possible.
The VIP tour provides a special Belize Zoo journey. Sharon will take you for personal encounters with our charismatic animal ambassadors. Some of these encounters include:
- Junior Buddy the Jaguar. Here you get a full introduction on Jr Buddy’s background and interact with him in an encounter available nowhere else in the world!
- Runt the Keel-billed Toucan. Here you will get to feed and take photos with a charming representative of Belize’s National Bird! What “Runt” lacks in size, he makes up for in personality!
- Indy the Tapir. One cannot visit the Belize Zoo without meeting the magnificent “mountain cow,” our national animal. Indy the tapir will trundle right over for a “meet and greet,” and accept treats from his new friends!
- Panama the Harpy Eagle. On your tour with Sharon, you will get to meet “Panama,” our harpy eagle! The harpy is one of the largest and most powerful eagles in the world, and Panama is their famous “ambassador” here at the Zoo. Learn about the success of the Belize Harpy Eagle Restoration Program, while being in the presence of this regal raptor.
Take photos, ask questions, make memories! The Director’s VIP Tour is an unforgettable experience, and great for everyone: couples, groups, families, and “lone wolves” are welcome! All proceeds from the Zoo Gift Shop go toward conservation of Wildlife in Belize. The Zoo is perfectly located on the main highway from or to Belize City and is highly recommended as a stop en route if time allows. Please enquire with our reservations team to book your VIP tour for you.
San Antonio Women’s Cultural Group
The San Antonio Women’s Group still makes ceramics by hand. It is a time-consuming process requiring great concentration and precision. They will demonstrate how this is done using the “coil method” and guests will be able to try their hands at creating something of their own. Following this, help to prepare your lunch by learning to make corn tortillas on a traditional fire hearth. Hear about the process of grinding the fresh corn and transforming it into the “masa” or dough that you will be forming into the tortillas. While the women finish preparing lunch, walk the rest of the property and learn about the sustainable processes used to fire the ceramic kilns and sustain an organic garden.
Blue Morpho Butterfly Farm
Located at Chaa Creek Lodge, just 20 minutes away from Black Rock, this is a great combo with canoeing. The Blue Morpho Butterfly Farm continues to be a major attraction as people marvel at the splendid iridescent wings of these magnificent butterflies. The “Belizean Blue” can be observed during every stage of their life cycle with a fascinating talk on the changes that this magnificently dazzling creature goes through.
Can be combined with canoeing, horseback ride, Maya Historical Museum tour , Saturday Market, Green Iguana or Botanical Gardens. Enquire at our tour desk.
Green Hills Butterfly Farm
Located on 100 acres in the Green hills of the Mountain Pine Ridge, this is the largest and the best of Belize’s butterfly farms open to the public, Green Hills has about 30 native species in a huge flight area on display at any given time. There are also many flowers, including passion flowers, bromeliads, heliconias, and orchids. The extensive hummingbird garden is an added bonus for birders. A great combo with ziplining or Barton Creek canoeing.
Community Baboon Sanctuary
A unique conservation effort brings together eight villages to protect the population and habitat of Belize’s Black Howler Monkey. The Black Howler Monkey is the largest monkey in the Americas, and found only in a small section of Central America. Located within an area of approximately 20 square miles, straddling the Belize River, the Community Baboon Sanctuary combines dense jungle with farmland, pasture, and small village life. In addition to providing sanctuary for the monkeys, the conservation program here encompasses protecting the trees that provide food for the monkeys, preserving the forest along the riverbanks to prevent erosion and siltation, and maintaining corridors of habitat around pastures and farms. You can often hear the mysterious, rasping roar of the monkeys in the distance, as soon as you get out of your vehicle.
Marie Sharpe Culinary Class
Learn about the cuisine and food culture of Belize. Start with a visit to the market (dependent on weather conditions), then an ice-breaker activity to see how good you are at following instructions, after all it is a hands on cooking class. Thereafter, you start by sampling an array of local fruit wines. Help prepare a variety of dishes under the tutelage of our local cooks using recipes handed down through generations. Using the famous Marie Sharpe hot sauces as an ingredient, you’ll learn about the diverse Belizean cultures, try traditional preparation techniques, sample essential spices and feast on your creations. As you prepare the dishes, your instructor shares insights about the ethnic groups and agricultural activities in Belize. Once the meal is finished, sit down with your small group to enjoy your meal together.
Travellers Rum Tasting
A pride of Belize and the Caribbean, rum tells the story of the region, from the bad times to the good. Hence there’s no better way to engage with history and taste the world’s most celebrated spirit than with a Traveller’s Tasters Tray. Relax in an air conditioned room where you get to savor and learn about rum. You get a “Traveller’s Tasters Tray” that consists of 6 different types of rum including an option of our 8 or 15 year old vintage rum. Standard rum tasting takes about an hour. Try the “Traveller’s Maya Juice”, a fortified blend crafted with Belize’s best sugar cane rum, fusing organic ingredients that flourished in Mayan time.
The Wine Shop
Enjoy wines from every corner of the world –in a very comfortable air-conditioned cellar in the heart of San Ignacio. Enjoy one of their tasty platters of cheeses, salmon and vegetables.
Combine this with the Travellers Rum Tasting and Ajaw Chocolate Tour for a tastebud treat.
Create unforgettable experiences at Black Rock Lodge!
Find the perfect balance of adventure and relaxation at our lodge.
Whether you want to head out into the wild and hike the mountains, or salute the sun on the yoga palapa, we’re certain you’ll find your groove here at Black Rock.