Offering a bit of respite from the hotter lowlands, Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve is one of the most heavily-visited reserves. It is a landscape of rolling pine forest spread over smooth granite hillsides, a slightly bizarre area with battalions of uniform pine sporadically dissected by fire breaks and broadleaf gallery forest. Established in 1944, the reserve has been logged on a carefully managed basis ever since. A big fire in 1949 caused huge damage, and the combination of this and the logging meant that all the trees are of the same age.

Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve Is Home To Birds

Not surprisingly, the reserve’s wildlife is different from the lowlands. Birds can be quite hard to see as they are hidden away in the scrub along pines, but there are some exceptions. Acorn Woodpeckers are busy around D’Silva Forest Station causing great aggravation by hammering buildings, guttering and telegraph poles. Their habit of storing acorns in tree stumps will be familiar to visitors from North America, but for some reason, the Belizean ones do it as well, even when there is no harsh winter to survive. Other reserve specialties include the Crossbill, Rufours-capped Warbler, Pine Siskin, Eastern Bluebird and Stigeon Own. If you visit between autumn and spring, you might also see the Chipping Sparrow and the Heptic Tanager. Raptors cruise the valleys of the Pine Ridge, and it is the most likely place in Belize to see Orange-Breasted Falcons.

A special part of the reserve is Baldy Beacon. Speculation continues on the cause of its fertility; soils are so poor that they cannot even support trees. Instead, it is covered in grass so tough that when sheep were introduced as an experiment back in the 19600s, they died of indigestion. The most probably explanation for the infertility is that in geological history, while the rest of Central America was under water, protected from the elements, these parts were still above sea level and exposed to erosion and leaching for millions of years, longer than anywhere else. The result then is a set of rounded grassy hills with views uninterrupted by any trees.

Another different part to Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve is the areas that did not have limestone deposited in them. These now support broadleaf forest, and the most spectacular example is the Rio Frio caves area, the largest accessible limestone cavern in the country. Walk a short way, and you can see out both ends. Its light is enough; you do not need a torch. Back outside, short trails are being developed by the Forest Department, who are in charge of the whole reserve, where the river cascades down into a narrow cavern strewn with granite bounders.

Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve Is A Must-Visit

Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve is a great place to spend some time enjoying the deep pools and clambering around the enormous granite rocks. In all areas, a common roadside flower is the yellow flowered St. John’s Wort, conspicuous with delicate petals and sets of spike-shaped leaves. Although adjacent to private property, the 1000-feet Valley Falls and King Vulture Falls are also reached from the Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve, capping off the attractions of the area.