Lubaantun

Lubaantun is unusual among Maya cities for its construction: the terraces and platforms are built of black slate blocks cut and fitted without mortar, with rounded corners, and there are no carved stelae. It flourished briefly in the eighth and ninth centuries. It is also the site the Mitchell-Hedges crystal skull was claimed to have come from, a story that has been thoroughly discredited: the skull was made with modern rotary tools and was bought at auction in London in 1943.

What you actually see

• The mortarless masonry - black slate blocks cut and fitted without mortar.
• The rounded corners - a building style found at few other Maya sites.
• The ball courts - three courts within the site.
• The hilltop setting - the city built along a ridge above two creeks.

When to go

December to April is the dry season and the practical window. Toledo is the wettest district in Belize and rain is likely in any month. Mornings are coolest.

Honest expectations

The crystal skull story is a hoax and guides sometimes still tell it as fact; the object was modern and was not excavated here. There are no carved monuments, which disappoints some visitors. The access road is rough after rain.

Nearby

Nim Li Punit is northeast, and Blue Creek is west.