Mountain Pine Ridge

Mountain Pine Ridge [2] is a roughly 400km² forest reserve in Cayo, Belize.

Get in

You can enter by private car, otherwise shell out BZ$80 for a taxi from San Ignacio (45 minutes) or pay up to double that to have your lodge pick you up if you're staying in the reserve. Blancaneaux has a private airstrip with a less than perfect but probably reliable reputation.

Get around

The parks roads are unpaved, and not served by any real bus service. Unless you have a car, you'll be limited to hiking or paying for expensive full and half day trips from a lodge.

See

• Big Rock Falls. This gorgeous waterfall makes for a great hike if you're staying within reasonable distance, and offers a couple of great natural swimming pools at it's base. Make sure to head home well before sunset, as the hike out can be steep and you definitely don't want to be stuck out here in the dark.

Sleep

• Blancaneaux, [1]. checkin: 3pm; checkout: 12pm. This luxurious and well designed lodge is owned by Francis Ford Coppola, and was once his private retreat. You can rent out his own large villa if he's not in town and you have the dough, or settle for one of the other thatch-roofed natural cabanas or villas. Splurge on a river view if you can. The main restaurant serves tasty Italian cuisine (mains BZ$20-30), or the smaller Guatemaltequa serves authentic Guatemalan food and is open for dinner by reservation only. Coppola's wines are available at both, along with others.  edit

Contact

There are no real services anywhere within the park, but if you're staying at a lodge, most will have a phone and internet available for guests.

Get out

• Caracol – beautiful Mayan ruins nearby

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