• Belize Tours Overview
• Mayan Ruins
• Cultural Tours
• Chocolate Tours
• Plants and Wildlife
• • Medicinal Plants
  • Aguacaliente Sanctuary
  • Scarlet Macaws at
    Red Bank
• Adventure Trips
• Volunteer Trips

Aguacaliente Wildlife Sanctuary

Just over the karst hills of Santa Anna and San Felipe is the Aguacaliente Wildlife Sanctuary, which was declared a protected area in 1998 and is co-managed by the Belizean government and the Aguacaliente Management Team - a consortium of representatives from the ten villages surrounding the sanctuary.

The protected area extends over 5, 492 acres of land and water, stretching from the Rio Grande River in the east to the Moho River in the south. Though it is small, Aguacaliente has been judged of particular importance by the National Protected Areas Policy and System Plan. The sanctuary features two ecosystems which are found nowhere else in Belize: tropical evergreen broad-leaved lowland swamp forest, Aguacaliente variant, and short-grass swamp savanna without trees or shrubs. Major features of the landscape include three fresh water lagoons, two hot springs, and several streams.

In the dry season, from February to May, guests here will have the opportunity to explore the area on a boardwalk and on hiking trails which lead to the hot springs and hills. The 5,000 acres provides habitat for orchids, butterflies, fish, turtles, deer, and the illusive tapir, but the main attraction is the birdwatching. Visitors to Aguacaliente can expect to see egrets, herons, cormorants, jabiru storks, and roseate spoonbills, just to name a few.