The ancient Mayan civilization once lived throughout Belize, and over 600 of their fascinating ancient cities can still be seen here.  The ones that are listed in the navigation bar are just a few of the incredible ruins this great civilization built.  From the major site of Altun Ha to the little known site of Uxbenka, all of these sites are worth visiting.

The history of the Mayans began a long time ago, around 2500 B.C.  The oldest site appears to be Cuello in Orange Walk.  Then came the pre-classic era in which the cities of Lamanai, home to the largest pre-classic structure in the Mayan world, and Cerros prospered.  In the classic period, the crowning period for the Mayan Civilization, the enormous sites of Caracol and El Pilar rose out of the forest and ceremonial centers like Xunantunich built lovely temples and pyramids.  The prosperity of the Maya didn't last forever, and in 900 A.D. most of the great Maya centres collapsed.  But the culture and outposts of the civilization were still alive and cities like Santa Rita and Lamanai still were inhabited when the Spanish came.  In fact, Lamanai lasted right up into the 1900s until British sugar cane farmers drove the remaining inhabitants out to make way for their farms.

Today, most of the sites are under excavation and preservation, but some sites like Cerros lack the funding needed to preserve it.  It is important to preserve these sites as lasting monuments of the great Mayan civilization.