Caracol Natural Monument Reservation

Caracol is the largest Maya archaeological site in Belize, first occupied around 1200 BC with its epicentre settled by 650 BC. At its peak around AD 650, the city covered an area larger than modern Belize City, supporting over 100,000 people. Its tallest structure, the Caana ("Sky Place") pyramid, rises 42.5 metres above the jungle floor and remains Belize's tallest man-made structure. Caracol defeated the powerful city of Tikal in AD 562 and later conquered Naranjo in AD 631, establishing itself as a dominant military power in the Maya Lowlands. Discovered by a woodcutter in 1938, systematic excavation began in 1985 under Diane and Arlen Chase.