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Everything you need to know before driving to Caracol | March 2021
Are you thinking about driving yourself to the Maya site of Caracol? Then this is the video for you!

We found it so hard to find current, reliable information online about the route but did find a lot of outdated warnings of how hard it would be.

With tours costing upwards of $120 USD per person it is well worth the saving if you have/can hire a car and just pay for fuel and entry ($7.50 USD per person).

We found the drive fantastic and manageable and would definitely encourage you to do it! There are certainly areas you need to be careful driving over but our small SUV hybrid (Ford Ecosport) didn't have any problems.

Top tips:

1. DO NOT ATTEMPT AFTER RAINFALL - there are long stretches of dirt road that become impassable after rainfall. We were lucky going after a dry stretch but could easily tell the route would be churned up and impossible after a bit of rain.

2. Take double the amount of water you think you need. It's a long day (6+ hours of driving and 3 at the site/waterfalls) and there are no water taps at the site.

3. Download an offline map at https://maps.me/​ or on the Maps.me app. It's also great for walking around the site itself!

4. Do another closer/cheaper Maya site beforehand with a guide to get the general history and context. We self-drove to Xunantunich where you can hire an authorised guide at the ferry crossing for just $25 USD. In addition, or at a minimum, do some background reading:
Short - http://www.mayan-ruins.org/caracol/
Medium - https://www.themayanruinswebsite.com/caracol.html
Long - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10814-016-9101-z

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The LARGEST Mayan Site in Belize - Caracol Natural Monument
Deep in the remote jungles of Belize lies Caracol, the largest and most successful Mayan city in the whole country. It takes a bit of a trek to get out there, but the rewards are incredible.

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CARACOL, BELIZE'S MAGNIFICENT MAYAN RUINS

Caracol is the largest and highest Mayan site in Belize - sprawling across 75 square miles, an area greater than Belize City. At one time, Caracol housed a huge population of almost 200,000 residents. It is magnificent, yet under visited today. Yes, Caracol is not an easy visit. You can reach the Caracol site by starting in the Cayo District and traveling around 25 miles south of San Ignacio to the Maya Mountains foothills. This short trip took us 2 1/2 hours. Pot holes. Speed bumps. Bad roads. Traffic in San Ignacio. Please see the end of my video for a further explanation.

Perhaps the most often written about attraction at Caracol is the Sky Palace - the tallest man-made structure in Belize. It towers above the settlement at a height of 136-feet.

The main reason to visit Caracol, in addition to seeing Sky Palace is to take in the grandeur of a destination that contains over 35,000 buildings. This factor alone makes Caracol a one-of-a-kind attraction. There's an astronomic observatory and reservoirs and causeways that reflect the sophistication of the society that built this empire.

It's eye opening to find out how much they discovered about Caracol's size when they flew LIDAR over the area.

LIDAR technology reveals that, in 700 C.E., the ancient Maya city of Caracol was one of the largest in the world.

Drive To Caracol Mayan Ruins
The journey to Caracol through the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve is an adventurous one, not for the faint-hearted. Although the distance from San Ignacio is only 80km, the road is rough with many potholes and rocks, and the journey took longer than expected.

As seen almost 25 KM of the road is in a great condition after turning off the highway. Then it becomes miserable gradually.

You do need a 4WD high clearance vehicle. I wouldn't attempt this if it rained heavily in the previous night due to the risk of getting stuck (Unless very experienced off-road driver).