Exploring Xunantunich Mayan Ruins in Belize
Xunantunich, one of Belize’s most easily accessible and impressive Mayan ruins sites, was a must visit when we found ourselves in the country. Located near the Guatemalan border, this breathtaking ancient archaeological site is just outside of San Ignacio in the Cayo District of Belize.
WHAT IS XUNANTUNICH
Xunantunich (pronounced a bunch of different ways but we’ll go with the way our tour guide said it… shoe-NAN-too-neech) or “Stone Woman” in Mayan language, is an ancient location that served as a Mayan civic ceremonial center. The original name for the city isn’t known, so archaeologists have called the ruins the stone woman because the site is reportedly haunted by a female ghost dressed in white with red, glowing eyes (spoiler alert: we didn’t see her during our visit).
GETTING TO XUNANTUNICH
Xunantunich is located near the Mopan River, about 70 miles west of Belize City. While we arrived at the ruins via an organized tour, the location is easily accessible to drivers from the Western Highway that runs between Belize and Guatemala.
Getting to the actual site was an adventure in itself. Xunantunich is located across the river from the village of San Jose Succotz. To get across the water, visitors have to take a short ride (50-60 feet) on a hand-cranked ferry that runs between the hours of 7:30am and 4:00pm. The ferry is able to accommodate cars and trucks as well as a large number of people simply standing on the moving platform. It was so unique and quirky. Needless to say, we loved it. Once across the river, the ruins are about a mile up hill. There is a visitor center as well as restrooms, picnic areas, and a gift shop for souvenirs.
DISCOVERING XUNANTUNICH
The first explorations of Xunantunich were conducted in the 1800’s and it took until the late 1950’s before any excavation began. In 1959, a team from Cambridge led by Euan MacKie discovered evidence of trade with other Mayan sites. In addition, MacKie believed the city was destroyed by an earthquake that likely occurred around 900 AD though other archaeologists seem to find this debatable.
HISTORY OF XUNANTUNICH
Xunantunich was settled as early as the ceramic phase of the Preclassic period and archaeologists believe it was built in three stages in the 600s AD, 700s AD and 800s AD. Xunantunich is believed to have grown significantly in size during the Samal phase in AD 600-670 primarily due to the political connection it established with the nearby city of Naranjo.
The Xunantunich city core is about one square mile, consisting of six different plazas with over two dozen different palaces and temples. El Castillo, the most famous towering pyramid at Xunantunich, is located at the heart of the ruins and may have been the ruling family’s ancestral shrine. It is the second tallest structure in Belize (the tallest structure at the time of this post was the main temple at the Caracol ruins). If you’ve seen a photo of Xunantunich before, it was most likely of El Castillo.
As we climbed up several flights of stairs to get the top of El Castillo, it was hard not to look down and envision a bustling plaza in its heyday, full of people scurrying around and carrying on their business. It was also hard not to look down without thinking about falling over the side because there were no handrails in sight! Your safety here is your own responsibility, so be sure to walk extra cautiously. Not surprising, the very top of El Castillo offers breathtaking 360 degree views of the surrounding area including Guatemala. The climb to the top was well worth the effort, even in very hot temps.
Our tour guide shared a lot of great information about the friezes toward the top of El Castillo. Friezes are the horizontal bands with detailed sculptures created on the side of the pyramid, kind of like hieroglyphics. There are usually near the ceiling or top of a structure. Unfortunately the northern and southern friezes on El Castillo have eroded but we were able to see some along the eastern wall that had been plastered. The ones we saw were replicas because the originals are covered for their preservation. Some of the friezes depicted the Tree of Life as well as Mayan deities including the sun god and the rain god. We couldn’t help but wonder how the ancient Mayans carved such beautiful, intricate art.
After hiking down El Castillo, we went over to a large ball court also located near the heart of the complex. We learned about how the games played at this location combined sports and religion with two teams facing off against each other. Winners of the competition were generally treated as heroes and losers were often killed in a ritual as a sacrifice to the gods. That was very sobering and hard to think about, however, Mayan culture believed that human sacrifice was necessary for the continued success of agriculture, trade, and health.
OUR XUNANTUNICH EXPERIENCE
We found Xunantunich to be impressive. One of our favorite parts was how the ruins seemed to be hidden until we turned the corner and were hit with the awe of El Castillo right in front of us. Wild monkeys are known to frequent this area and while we didn’t see any during our visit, it was fun to keep a hopeful eye out as we explored. We enjoyed climbing up the side of El Castillo and we loved the small(er) crowds. These ruins were definitely worth the visit!
