TRAVEL SPECIAL..... BELIZE

TRAVEL SPECIAL BELIZE



This summer, explore Belize ­ `Mother Nature's Best Kept Secret', writes Pallavi Gaitonde

Not many people have heard of Belize, a tiny country on the eastern coast of Central America; tucked between Mexico, Guatemala and the Caribbean Sea. The nation is a blend of Maya, Creole, Garifuna, Belize, and Mestizo cultures. This place is brimming with a rich variety of experiences that are waiting to be explored. Belize is bordered with colourful reefs off its eastern coast, while the country's interior is dotted with Mayan ruins hidden away in lush green jungles.

Belize offers stays of all kinds, right from kinds, right from budget hotels, beachside accommodations, hostels, resorts, eco-lodges, villas, Bed and Breakfasts, condominiums, campsites, apartments and guesthouses; with per-night hotel tariffs that range from Rs 1,000 for budget hotels, to Rs 5,00,000 for private island villas.

You can gather picture-perfect moments with your family at one of the many exotic locations this place has to offer.Belize is a kidfriendly location that enfolds numerous wildlife sanctuaries, lagoons, rivers, jungle canopies, natural caves, Mayan ruins, islands and palm-fringed beaches. It also lays claim to the Belize Barrier Reef which incidentally is the world's second largest and the Great Blue Hole which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Whether you want to just laze around in the hammock on a beach, or take up one of the innumerable activities, Belize has something to offer for everyone.

There is a whole assortment of activities like snorkeling, diving, trekking, exploring the jungles, shopping, swimming, caving, discovering ancient ruins to choose from. You can even opt for a home-stay and experience the Mayan way of living, or learn the art of drumming right from learning how to make a drum to the traditional rhythms from the Garifuna community .

Food-lovers can rejoice too as Belizean cuisine is a blend of foods of all cultural groups in the country . In addition to savouring the Belizean delicacies, you can also go on a chocolate tour which starts from a Mayan cacao farm and ends in the kitchen where they will teach you the actual process of making Mayan chocolate.

TRIVIA: The Belize dollar is locked at $2 Belize = US $1 The native language of Belize is Kriol

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