Lamanai and Scenic Boat Ride Along the New River Lagoon

Lamanai Mayan site is one of Belize’s largest ceremonial centers. It is located on the banks of the 30 mile long New River Lagoon, in the Orange Walk District, north of Belize City. The site of Lamanai includes eight major plazas, a ball court with the largest known ball court marker, a well-preserved mask of a Maya ruler emerging from a crocodile headdress, a 108 foot tall pyramid, one of the largest Pre-classic structures in the Maya area and an intricately carved Stela depicting the ruler Lord Smoking Shell. These are the main focal points at the site. Found also at the site are remains of a Christian “Indian Church”, which revealed that in 1544 the Spaniards had built a church on top of a Maya temple. This site has an excellent museum with pottery vessels, flints and figurines, many representations of crocodiles, indicating that the crocodile was very important to the people of Lamanai.