San Ignacio

San Ignacio sits on the Macal river in the Cayo district and is the base for almost everything in western Belize: the caves, the Maya sites, the pine ridge and the Guatemalan border an hour away. It is a working town rather than a resort, with a hilltop Maya site called Cahal Pech directly above it, a suspension bridge across the river, and a Saturday market that draws farmers, Mennonite families, Maya and Creole traders from across the district and is the best in the country. The mix of populations here, Creole, Mestizo, Maya, Mennonite, Chinese and Lebanese, is unusually visible in a small place.

What you'll find

• The Saturday market - the best in Belize, drawing the whole district.
• Cahal Pech - a small Maya site on the hill directly above the town.
• The Hawkesworth Bridge - the suspension bridge over the Macal.
• The Green Iguana project - a conservation hatchery in the town.

When to go

December to April is the dry season. Saturday morning is the market and the reason to time a visit. The town is the base for tours to the caves and sites, all of which leave early.

Practical notes

It is a base town and there is not a great deal in it beyond the market and Cahal Pech; the reason to be here is what surrounds it. Accommodation ranges widely in quality. The town gets hot and the streets are steep. Touting for tours is constant along the main street.

Nearby

Xunantunich is twenty minutes west; the Mountain Pine Ridge is south.