Caves Branch Birding

We stayed for two nights in the rain forest at Caves Branch on our way from the central highlands of Belize to the coast. Having gorged on Mayan history for a week it was a fresh change of scenery and photography challenges. Forests can be particularly difficult areas to spot and identify birds, so we arrange for a full day guided tour with Ishmael, a local guide with the perfect combination of enthusiasm and patience to help us get the most out of our time.

There were plenty of interesting birds right on the grounds and we spent the morning just on the trails and pathways around the lodge, picking up local characters like this hooded warbler, which was boldly flapping around the breakfast tables while my camera struggled a little with morning humidity.

I am always a big advocate for getting local guides because they not only know the birds by appearance but they often know the habits and haunts of individuals that you would never notice in a million years on your own. A prime example of this local knowledge is the bard owl that was tucked between some coconuts in the top of a palm tree. He looks obvious in the photo below but was anything but, especially given the thousands of trees to choose from.

Local guides are also great for finding species you didn't know you were looking for and would struggle to identify without them, such as this Morelet's Seedeater. Of course even the best guide can't guarantee that you'll get more than a fleeting look or be able to fumble through with your own gear - of the 68 species we saw on our outing, I would say I have "okay" pictures of maybe a third of the species and "good" pictures of half of those, but that's all part of the fun and challenge of a day like that.

Caracol

Originally thought to be a fringe player in the Classic Period of Mayan history, the city is now known to have been one of the key political centres. Located on the Vaca Plateau at an elevation of 500m in the foothills of the Maya Mountains, the modern name means “snail shell” on account of the winding access road to the site. The ancient Maya would have known it as Uxwitza meaning “Three Water Hill.”

Although famous for its altars and stellae, Caracol’s biggest draw is Caana, the “Sky Palace,” which remains the tallest structure in Belize at 43m. Designed with Mayan cosmology and numerology throughout, Caana has two sequential stairways to a top platform, which is itself topped by a trio of pyramids. The other major highlight is the celestial observatory, which still has the original wooden timber supports

Caana is a stunning structure to behold, but its tiered pyramid design doesn’t do it favors to the conventional camera lens. What looks imposing to the eye invariably comes out as squat and unassuming in pixels. If we’d had our drone with us we might have done it justice, but for now we just recommend everyone go see it for themselves.

Once covering 200km2 with a suspected population of 180,000, it covers an area larger than modern Belize City with double the number of inhabitants. Occupied as early as 1,200BC, Caracol flourished as Tikal’s main competitor, but ultimately collapsed with all the other Mayan city states around 950AD. Rediscovered by a woodcutter in 1938, the ruins were surveyed in the 1950s but major excavation didn’t occur until the 1980s.

 

The Road to Caracol

Our original plan to was take every 2nd or 3rd day easy, but unfortunately there was too much to see and do in Belize so every day became an expedition. Case in point, I had barely heard of the ruins of Caracol before leaving, but having gotten a taste for Mayan cities this one sounded too tantalizing to miss.

It was also one of the most remote sites we visited, being far from town and close to the Guatemalan border. There have historically been problems with bandits in the forests as well (Belize recommends visiting the site as part of a daily convoy, but we did just fine with a local guide) so we opted to go with an organized tour for this one - fortunately there were only three of us booked so we had a small and personal tour to the site. But getting there took time...

On the way, we really lucked out with a close encounter with some King Vultures. Normally they are circling FAR up in the air, and we were incredibly fortunate to see a cluster of them practically at eye level and very close to the road.

Belize (like the Yucatan) is crisscrossed with limestone caverns and waterways of various sizes. The Rio Frio cave was an enormous, but also highly accessible cave on the way out. Its also not incredibly deep, so we could enjoy the strange formations and stream running through it, without spending too long (or worry about getting too lost)

We also visited the Big Rock waterfall, which was as scenic as it was freezing cold. Despite an opportunity to swim none of us were quite hot enough to want to brave the chilly water, though there were a group of cliff jumpers a little further up that were the right combination of brave and foolhardy to be enjoying the waters themselves.

Xunantunich

Xunantunich means “Maiden of the Rock” in Mayan and refers to a ghostly woman with fiery glowing eyes that has been reported ascending the stairs of El Castillo since 1892. As an indicator of how long the site has been abandoned and how completely the Mayan empire collapsed, the settlements original name is lost to time.

Strategically located on a limestone ridge overlooking the Mopan River, local Maya established control of the valley but were themselves vassals of the city state of Calakmul. Construction began as early as 200AD, halted following an unknown violent event in 750AD and then took off again by 800AD, ultimately outliving many of its rivals but still collapsing by 1,000AD and lying dormant until its rediscovery in the 1890s.

The core of the site is dominated by the pyramid known as “El Castillo” which, at 40m in height, is the 2nd tallest structure in Belize. Magnificent stucco friezes depicting the birth of a god and the tree of life are still visible near the top, with portions having been reconstructed for the benefit of tourists.

This focal point is in turn surrounded by 2.6km2 of plazas, temples, palaces and ball courts. As with most Mayan ruins, the remains of the city extend far beyond what has been excavated, offering only a hint to what the original city would have looked like.

The view from the top of El Castillo is stunning. At the peak of Mayan civilization it would have offered an unrestricted view to Tikal and Cahel Pech when all the rainforest now between the sites was developed farmland and city.

Access across the Mopan river requires a simple cable ferry, which is free to take but gives local guides an opportunity to pitch their value to you while entering the site (protip: they are worth it, if Edward is there, he is fantastic). The operators were also more than happy to sit back and let Kathryn take a turn on the crank to put her captaining skills to use in another country and kind of boat.

Actun Tunichil Muknal

The rain god Chaahk was a powerful and fickle power to the Mayan people, especially in times of drought, and human blood was a potent source of nourishment for the gods. The limestone caves across Belize were sacred places for him, as the rivers flowing from them were seen as his influence extending from the underworld of Xibalba.

Actun Tunichil Muknal, meaning “Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre” contains both artifacts and human remains from the Classic Mayan period. For hundreds of years, priests came to this cave to conduct bloodletting rituals and human sacrifices.

Many of the stone formations within were shaped to produce musical instruments, altars, or to cast shadow silhouettes of faces and animals on the cave walls.

Entering the cave today involves a 3km scramble underground along a meandering river to the site. The final cave opens up like a natural cathedral that contains 14 skeletal remains, all assumed to be high-status individuals sacrificed in times of war or drought. Frequent flooding over time has calcified their bones, fusing them to the ground and leaving them with a sparking and otherworldly finish.

Experiencing this site was an intensely spiritual experience that left a mark on us - truth be told I think we are still processing it and likely will be for years to come. Though the priests who worshipped these gods are long gone, they were human beings similar to ourselves but utterly different in circumstance. The undeniable power of the place, combined with the things that happened there, are haunting.

Please note: All these photos were shared afterwards by our guide Basilio from a collection built up by local guides. After a number of mishaps with clumsy tourists, photography is no longer permitted in the caves.