Jaguar Paw Adds Zip Line Tour
Always wanted to act out that Tarzan fantasy, zippin' high above the rainforest in a loin cloth? Well, you're on your own with the loin cloth. But if you're interested in zipping through the rainforest, then gather up Jane and head over to Jaguar Paw Jungle Resort in the Cayo District of inland Belize.
Jaguar Paw's Aerial Trek Zip Line Tour is the first in Belize, added within the past year. Zip-lining is essentially rappelling above the jungle canopy, secured safely by cable and pulley equipment. The adventure sport originated from rappelling, where safety climbing harnesses and ropes are used to repel or jump from one point to another.
Similarly, zip-lining employs a series of cables and platforms suspended high above the ground over the rainforest tree tops; the zip-lines attached from one platform to another allow you to slide via harness and pulley through the tree tops or rainforest canopy.
The sport allow participants to enjoy a "bird's eye view" of the jungle, says Cy Young, who owns and operates Jaguar Paw resort, along with his wife Donna.
Jaguar Paw's other signature activity is cave tubing-the top inland destination activity in Belize. The Caves Branch River honeycombs through miles of underground caves on Jaguar Paw's 215-acre jungle reserve and rainforest wildlife sanctuary, where members of the ancient Mayan civilization lived and worshipped about a thousand years ago.
Jaguar Paw, about an hour and a half from Belize City and 75 minutes from the international airport, is in fact the name of an actual leader renowned by the Mayans.
Amazingly enough, it wasn't until after purchasing the property in the mid 1990s that the Youngs discovered the large cave system (now called the Crystal Cave) even existed. Donna began exploring it with a local bushman, and in all probability, they were the first to do so since the ancient Mayans, whose presence in the vestiges of the cave was evidenced by shards of their ancient pottery, still in place.
Crystal Cave is open to guests of Jaguar Paw, as well as visitors for the day from cruise ships and other resorts in Belize. Guests can navigate the system by boat or by floating down the Caves Branch River on large inner tubes. Cave goers wear hats equipped with headlights, much like "miner hats," that illuminate the leisurely trip through the cave formation.
Accentuated by Mayan architecture, Jaguar Paw Jungle Resort features a spectacular, jungle-themed dining room and bar with 25-foot ceilings, a jungle swimming pool and air-conditioned guest rooms, furnished and decorated with a rainforest style all of their own.
AmbergrisCaye.com 
