The Hummingbird Highway

The Hummingbird Highway runs from Belmopan southeast to the coast at Dangriga, and it is comfortably the best road in the country to drive: eighty kilometres of curves between the karst hills of the Maya Mountains on one side and limestone bluffs on the other, through orange and grapefruit groves that supply the country's citrus industry, past villages, roadside fruit stands and the caves and sinkholes of the limestone belt. The highest point on it, the Hummingbird Gap, gives a view over the whole range. It was rebuilt in the 1990s and is now well surfaced, which was not always the case.

What you actually see

• The karst hills - limestone ridges and cones along the whole route.
• The citrus groves - orange and grapefruit filling the valley.
• Roadside stands - fruit, cashews and hot pepper sauce along the way.
• The Hummingbird Gap - the high point with a view over the range.

When to go

December to April is the dry season and clearest. Citrus harvest runs roughly from October to May and the roadside stands are fullest then. Morning light on the hills is the best. Allow half a day with stops.

Honest expectations

It is a road, and the point is the drive rather than a destination; without a car there is little to it. Rain brings landslips onto the carriageway in places. Trucks from the citrus plants are frequent and slow. Some of the stops along it, including Blue Hole park, have had car break-in problems.

Nearby

Blue Hole national park is on the route; Dangriga is at the eastern end.