The idea of visiting and exploring Mayan ruins crosses the minds of millions of people every year, and yet they are overwhelmed by the crowds going into such places. There are great Mayan ruins that are not as crowded and yet just as wonderful to visit, like the site of Cahal Pech. Located high atop the hill in the Cayo area in the western part of Belize, this site offers more than a few Mayan buildings and ruins to see. Although less impressive than Xunantunich and Caracol, it is still a fascinating example of Pre-Classic Maya architecture. It was a significant Maya settlement for at least 2000 years.

Cahal Pech Offers Mayan Buildings And Ruins

The site itself is a kind of archeological enigma; no one seems to know when it was discovered. The first time, on paper, that the ruins of Cahal Pech were discovered was during the start of the Second World War in the mid-1930s. Because of the war efforts and the resources that were taken to fight, the first official dig held at the Cahal Pech site was in the 1950s peacetime. It has shown evidence of being occupied by almost 1000 years. Imagine a single city existing in continuous use for hundreds of years. For any lover of human history and archeology, the ruins of Cahal Pech are a city you can visit.

Cahal Pech Is A Pre-Classic Maya Architecture

Cahal Pech is Mopan and Yucatac Mayan for ‘Place of Ticks,’ a nickname it earned in the 1950s when the site was surrounded by pastures grazed by tick-infested cattle. Today, it is a pleasantly shady site with plenty of trees and a few tourists. Its core area of seven interconnected plazas has been excavated and restored since the late 1980s. The earliest monumental religious architecture in Belize was built here between 600 and 400 BC, though most of what we see today dates from AD 600 to 800, when Cahal Pech and its peripheral farming settlements had an estimated population of between 10,000 and 20,000. The place was abandoned around AD 850.

Its site center is made up of 34 structures located around several courtyards, including temple pyramids and residential buildings. The tallest structure here is 23.5 meters (or 77 feet) high. There are 8 stele, 2 ball courts and 1 altar. Preliminary investigations carried out in 1988 revealed that Cahal Pech was settled by 1200 BC, making it one of the earliest Maya sites in the Belize region of the Maya lowlands, contemporaneous with Cuello in the north. A carved monument discovered at Cahal Pech is also the earliest carved stale yet discovered in the eastern Maya lowlands.

Tours In Cahal Pech Are Available

Indeed, this ancient city is one of the best and most accessible Maya ruins available for tourists. Guided tours through the ruins of Cahal Pech can take about an hour and will cover the full two acres and 34 structures of the site. There is a small admission fee to enter the site, and you can go along and take your time. However, doing so might cause you to miss something in Cahal Pech that only a guide may know about.