COUNTRY PROFILES Belize A TASTE OF THE CARIBBEAN Sandwiched between Mexico,


Guatemala and the Caribbean sea, Belize is unusual among Latin American nations for its combination of British and Spanish colonial heritage, remnants of the Mayan empire and a distinctly laid-back Caribbean ambience. The fact it is English-speaking is an additional selling point for clients taking their first steps in the region. Many travellers simply transit


B


elize might be small, but it's also remarkably diverse, with


the wildlife-rich steamy jungle of the west giving way to a Caribbean coast lined with sandy beaches, offshore cayes and the second longest barrier reef in the world.


■ Belize's luxury Blancaneaux Lodge


SAMPLE PACKAGE Exodus' 16-day La Ruta Maya tour pairs Belize with Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and Guatemala to discover the best of the ancient Mayan empire. In Belize, the tour visits Belize City and the idyllic Caribbean island of Caye Caulker.


through the city but those that linger longer will discover a bustling, colourful city pockmarked by colonial buildings and coastal parks. Most visitors to Belize will set foot


on either Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker in the north of the country, where white-sand beaches and palm-lined beaches make for an idyllic setting. Both offer excellent snorkelling and diving as well as


WWW.TRAVELBELIZE.ORG Capital city: Belmopan/Belize City | Languages: English, Spanish, indigenous languages | Currency: Belize dollar | Visa: Not required by British citizens | Time zone: GMT -6hrs


HIGHLIGHTS  The Blue Hole  Ambergris Caye & Caye Caulker  Cockscomb Wildlife Sanctuary  Mayan site of Caracol  Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary


access to the Lighthouse Reef and famous Blue Hole, a naturally- occurring sinkhole in the ocean. The north and west of Belize is


littered with Mayan ruins and among those commonly featuring in itineraries is spectacular Caracol, a vast, remote site believed to be one of the ancient Mayan empire’s principal settlements. For bird-watchers, Crooked Tree


Wildlife Sanctuary is rated among the best locations in Central America, while Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is the world’s only dedicated jaguar reserve.


Bolivia O


NATURAL WONDER


nce found only in the brochures of specialist Latin


America operators, landlocked Bolivia is slowly working its way into the programmes of mainstream travel companies – and rightly so. Tourism infrastructure might be limited, but the country's natural wonders and the warmth of its people more than make up for this. The country's capital city, La Paz,


is the highest in the world and is dramatically set amid a ring of 6,000metre-high mountain peaks. History and modernity meet on its busy streets, where women wearing


HIGHLIGHTS  Lake Titicaca and Copacabana  High altitude La Paz  The Salar de Uyuni  Jesuit Missions  Sucre, the offical capital


14 | Latin America


bowler hats and traditional dresses stroll past shops selling designer clothes and the latest gadgets. Northeast of La Paz, and straddling


the border with Peru, is the giant Lake Titicaca and pretty town of Copacabana where the majority of boat trips depart from for visits to the Isla del Sol, a sacred Inca site. In the southwest of Bolivia is the


city of Potosi whose rich silver resources helped fund the Spanish Empire’s occupation of the region. Many visitors will pass through the colonial city on their way to what is considered Bolivia’s most spectacular natural attraction, the Salar de Uyuni. The flat, bright white landscape stretches for mile upon mile, fringed by lunar-like deserts of strange orange rock formations and sand. The east of Bolivia drops steeply away from the Andes, merging into


WWW.BOLIVIA.EMBASSYHOMEPAGE.COM Capital city: La Paz/Sucre | Languages: Spanish, indigenous languages | Currency: Boliviano | Visa: Not required by British citizens | Time zone: GMT -4hrs


■ Bolivia's remarkable Salar de Uyuni


SAMPLE PACKAGE Tucan Travel's 14-day Desert Horizons tour combines Bolivia with Chile, visiting capital city La Paz and the mining town of Potosi, before exploring the Salar de Uyuni by 4WD vehicle, and then heading into Chile for the remainder of the tour.


the Amazon basin in the north and vast grasslands in the south. The steamy city of Santa Cruz lies on the fringe of the Andean foothills and is the main access point for the Jesuit Missions circuits, a series of six towns founded by Jesuits in the early 1700s.


© EXPLORE


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