lubaantun

We were in Placencia and took a day trip to LUBAANTUN. It was a 3.5 hour drive. Now we did take a few stops and our driver did drive slow to show us a few things. It was hard to get there - but note there are two entrances one is several miles down a dirt track, the other 1.2 miles down a dirt track. Thankfully our driver took us to the second shorter track. The ruins are worth a visit. But the site has not had many excavations - and mostly you have some simple ruins separated by large grassy areas surrounded by forrest. It is sad that the Belize government or some other international historic association does not help bring this site to its potential.

We drove from Placencia to see the Lubaantun ruins in the Toledo district of Belize. it is not easy to get to- off the Southern highway you must travel several miles on a one lane dirt road that is full of potholes, rocks, etc- but it is worth the drive ( best to have a 4wheel drive vehicle) . You will pass through a couple of Mayan villages on the way- quite fascinating. Once at the ruins, we had a wonderful and informative chat with Salvatore, one of the curators, who grew up and lives in the Maya village of San Pedro Colombia, one of the villages we passed through. He worked with the crews that excavated the site, and eventually became one of the curators, so has a tremendous wealth of knowledge about the site, as well as the local history of the area. He also is a potter, and makes the traditional Mayan whistles which are beautiful and fascinating in their own right. The hike from the road to the ruins is a steep down and up set of stairs that cross a little river, where you can often see Mayan women washing clothes in the river. The ruins, although not as spectacular as some of the more famous ones, are quite spectacular, and even more interesting because of the info provided by Salvatore. It is also a great spot for birding, and we saw many different types of butterflies as well.

We drove there form Punta Gorda, the drive is fun and as often in Belize on a dirty, non-paved road but thats makes it also special there. If you don't have a car there is a bus going via some of the villages but I don't know the schedule if there is one...The side is surrounded nicely from primary and secondary jungle and lot's of wildlife can be spotted. We have been there alone and I guess there are rarely many people, the ranger was helpful and had a small private selection of Maya artefacts that he es collated on the site (I guess not really legal...). In contrast to more northern sites it's less rebuild but this leads to a interesting atmosphere. Great site to visit

I was in the Punta Gorda area and I was told to go visit the ruins in that area, Lubaantun. The day was great for the tour and so heading there and got lost, my friends and I ask for direction along the way and ended up going thru the back side, up hills and across the bridge over a river and thru a dirt road. It was a fun trip and we stop and took a lots of picture of nature. Scenes and animal and a lots of natural beautiful areas. The Ruin area was awesome and a very educated trip as we were given the information of when and how this ruin was discover. I highly recommend stopping by when you are in this are. A must!

I enjoyed a nice visit to these restored Mayan ruins in Toledo district southern Belize. In addition to seeing several ruins and structures the caretaker was a wealth of information about the history and lives of Mayans. . He directed me to an organic cacao farm nearby where I took a tour with Eladio Pop a Mayan organic cacao farmer.

Nice day trip destination from somewhere like Placencia if the weather isn't giving you beach time. Not hard to find and a pretty good-sized ruin.

This was my 2nd visit to Lubaantún and my husband's 1st. As a package with the bus ride from Punta Gorda and the hike in, it's a culturally interesting and worth while trip. As before, the caretaker Santiago and his knowledge of the site, willingness to share new discoveries, and original works of pottery based on ancient motifs makes the visit. Recommended!

Beautiful site and not crowded at all! Its a little hard to get to as its not well marked and the road is not great but local people are friendly and helpful. Bring a cold drink it gets hot and theres not much around.Check out the Earthship (Chaos Oasis) on the way to the ruins

Visited the site with my family on a day trip from Placencia and was pleasantly surprised once we found our way in. The road from the highway was very poor so we went in from the San Antonio side through the village and it was a fun adventure. The site itself was breathtaking and well cared from what I could tell. The caretaker was very nice and knowledgeable and answered all our questions. We had the whole place to ourselves for the afternoon which felt amazing to not have to contend with other tourists. I think it's one of the top attractions in the area and highly recommend a visit.

It's one of the best places to visit within Toledo in regards to Mayan structure, Ball Courts, Birding, Figurines, Ocarinas, Story about the famous Crystal Skull and Anna Mitchell-Hedges.

This is a great Maya site to visit in the south of Belize. The name means “Place of the Fallen Stones”. Lubaantun was occupied in the Late Classic 730 - 860 CE. There are 5 plazas and 3 ball courts set on a high ridge, which functions as a massive platform. The battered facing architecture is unique and built of cut and fitted limestone blocks laid without mortar. The site is very well maintained.

We enjoyed the fact that it was very quiet and not crowded. It is however a smaller complex with only minimal excavation. There is so much still hidden under dirt and jungle here. I enjoyed the little museum and the man that makes reproductions of the ancient mayan whistles. It was also neat to be able to see so many pieces of pottery just laying around and all the tiny shells left from Mayan's snacks so long ago. I wouldn't drive for hours to see this place, but you should definitely go if you are anywhere in the area.

We decided to take a trip here from Placencia as these ancient Mayan ruins were within good driving distance. We arrived at Lubaantun and paid a small fee to enter. We ventured around the ruins without a guide just taking in the beautiful ruins and sights.We enjoyed visiting the peaceful site of The Fallen Stones and thought it was a lovely hour spent exploring an ancient civilization.It's not a big ruin...but this is the best in Toledo for sure so a must visit if you're staying in the south of Belize (Hopkin, Placencia, Maya Beach etc).If you're looking for something more impressive take a day trip to Tikal in Guatemala or Xunantunich in Belmopan

Loved the fact that the young kiddos could climb the ruins. Educational display of the areas history. At the end of your visit you can purchase a mayan souvenir. great!

We were staying in Hopkins, which is a haul from the best sites in Belize, but we wanted to see Mayan ruins and had a car, so set out on our own!We first went to Lim Ni Punit (which doesn't have a place to review on Trip Advisor) but is also worth a stop! Then headed to the bigger of the 2 in the Toledo area, LUBAANTUN. Cost is $5US p/p and worth every penny!Visiting on a Monday with a tropical depression moving in, we nearly had the place(s) to ourselves. It took about an hour and a half to drive from Hopkins (with nearly 30 min of the drive getting out of the dirt roads of Hopkins to the main 2 lane paved highway). Otherwise, it is an easy drive... but WATCH OUT for BUMPS!We were greeted by Santiago, who is the main caretaker and archeologist. We had the BEST and most informative time with him. He pulled out artifacts that had been excavated from Lubaantum and told us about the Crystal Skull (which was made famous in the Temple of Doom --Indianna Jones movie). Supposedly a huge crystal was found in the early 1900's by a famous British archeologist and he replanted it at Lubaantun for his daughter to refind for her 12th birthday. While crystal skulls have been found elsewhere, this one was impressive. However, mystery continues to surround this Crystal because of it's size and the fact that the family won't allow it to be examined and carbon dated. Hmmmm..... Santiago actually met the girl 2 times before she died a few years ago and supposedly the Crystal skull is in the hands of her half her age lover now. Anyway.... Santiago also showed us the replica flutes that he and his daughter have been making out of copies of molds excavated from Lubaantun. We bought a couple because they are so unique to all the touristy crap one can buy. Wear bug spray because it is in the jungle. Wear really well soled shoes (not sandals) and stay off the ruins! We had a great time wandering the site.... it is quite huge still even though the jungle is working hard to reclaim the land. There are trinket sellers waiting your comings and goings. They are not a bargain. In fact, what we learned is that each day is a new seller because they have a system. Prices are fixed and must deal in US $$. Have lots of $1's and $5's if really interested in shopping off the street cuz they don't give change back in US $$, but Belize dollars.