Adventure at its best at the Mountain Pine Ridge Belize

The Mountain Pine Ridge is a natural reserve in south central Belize’s Cayo district. Spread over a huge 300 sq miles of forest reserve, this reserve is just south of Western Highway, and the ridge can accessed via the Chiquibul Road or via the Cristo Rey Road from Georgeville and Santa Elena respectively.

The reserve was set up in 1944 and the main purpose rather than preservation was to manage the pine forest. The human presence in the area is very sparse and the largest population of some hundred people is found in D’Silva forest station, which also doubles up as the headquarters of the Forest Department’s western division.

Nevertheless, the reserve is all about nature at its best. It is the home to various mammals like the White-nosed Coatis, Jaguars, Cougars, and Baird’s Tapirs. The Morelet’s Crocodile is also found here, though in very few numbers.

The place is also famous for bird watching activities and the notable residents of the area include Plumbeous Vireo, Red-lored Parrot, Acorn Woodpecker, Pine Siskin, Ocellated Turkey, and King Vulture. The winter season sees the arrival of Chipping Sparrow and Hepatic Tanager, besides the reserve sees the Orange-breasted Falcons in large numbers more than anywhere else in Belize.

The area is also home to the frogs and the species found here include Rana juliani and Eleutherodactylus sandersoni along with the fish species of Poecilia teresae.

The Barton Creek area is full of exploration opportunities and is frequented by people on a large scale just for that purpose, in addition to its natural beauty of course. The area boasts of a huge river cave of some 4.5 miles and the best part is that it has not been explored completely yet.

Another striking feature of the cave is the wonderful and thrilling boat journey one needs to undertake to reach it in the first place. An archaeological investigation has unearthed huge numbers of Mayan relics above the various reefs, which they believe were used for rituals.

The Rio Frio Cave possesses the largest entrance to any cave in the entire nation of Belize. Another popular and must see site is the spectacular Rio Frio cave, which is open at both ends and as a result it is never dark inside.

Listed below are some of the questions which may be on your mind.

How do I reach the Mountain Pine Ridge?

Some of the places are very hard to access in the reserve and the fun actually begins during the process of getting there. It’s all about boat rides, mountain biking and horseback riding along with the simple trekking methods. In order to get to the reserve, you first need to reach Cayo, which is approximately an hour’s drive from the capital Belize City. The reserve can be accessed via the Chiquibul Road or via the Cristo Rey Roads. From there, it’s all about adventure at its best.

Where do I stay during my Mountain Pine Ridge adventure?

There are some fine accommodation choices in the nearby Cayo area. Some popular landmarks are San Ignacio Resort Hotel, duPlooy’s Jungle Lodge, The Lodge at Chaa Creek, and The Lodge at Chaa Creek.

When is the best time to visit Mountain Pine Ridge?

The best time to visit the place is between the months of July to February when it’s neither too hot nor too dry.

In conclusion, the Mountain Pine Ridge is the place to be for any adventure lover. The best part is there’s so much more to explore as the place has been hardly explored and this is the main reason why the importance of the place is only growing. So, without wasting any further time, go ahead and start planning your trip to the reserve.