Lubaantun Mayan Ruins

The ruins of Lubaantun, a Maya city that thrived from around AD 700 to 900 but was abandoned soon after, are somewhat unusual in a country where Maya ruins are almost common. Black slate is the primary building material. There’s a noticeable lack of mortar and a large collection of miniature ceramic objects has been found over the years. It is the largest Maya site in Southern Belize and has become well known for its strange style of construction. Lubaantun is also where the controversial crystal skull was supposedly discovered by Anna Mitchell-Hedges (though that’s since been almost entirely disproved). Visitors are free to wander the site, where there is a small visitor center and an admission fee of $10.

At the end of a long, pothole-filled road (potholes may be an understatement) there’s a Mayan ruin tucked away from the tourist crowds that flock the more popular ruins. However, for the traveler who loves getting to sense a place as it is, almost untouched, it’s a must-see. During our trip, there were kind Mayan women selling their wares on the side of the road as you walk up to the only modern building and explore the small museum. Be sure to chat with the keeper as he whittles away on some wood and tells you how the gardeners “just dug up some new artifacts today while pulling weeds”. Once you leave the open-windowed shop, you’ll get to trace the remains of this once great Mayan city. Its humble remains, from the ball court to the kitchen, give you a glimpse into a life long gone. Although, as you walk away from the Mayan women and wave goodbye to the keeper, breathing in the musky jungle air, you wonder if those days-gone-by are really so far lost.