There’s a giddy, childlike feeling one gets while climbing 1,000-year-old stone structures in the middle of the God-blessed jungle—a fairy-tale, Tolkienesque mood of mystery as you scramble over winding, crooked staircases and tunnels while strange creatures holler from the surrounding forest canopy. Belize offers dozens of such sites to explore, some fully excavated and restored, others still hidden under a carpet of dense vegetation.

Archaeologists estimate that at one time, between one and two million Maya lived in the area that is now called Belize—a fantastically huge number when compared to the population of today.

Most Maya sites in Belize now boast visitors’ centers that act as both mini-museums and interpretive centers. Although many sites are quite accessible (especially Altun Ha, where the parking lot is on even ground with the main plaza), most require at least some level of physical activity to reach, and can be explored by foot, horseback, canoe, or mountain bike. If you’d like to do more than just visit, look into alternative travel options that allow you to participate in ongoing studies and excavations or consider applying to the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project. Below you’ll find a few suggestions on how to take part in the Mundo Maya.

• Day Trips: You’ll find that nearly every destination in Belize offers at least one day trip to a Maya archaeological site. If you’re on San Pedro or Caye Caulker, this means making a boat-bus commute to and from a site like Altun Ha or Lamanai—by nightfall, you’ll be back in your beach chair.

• Overnighting with the Maya: If you’d rather get closer and wake up to a Maya dawn, consider a stay in Chan Chich, Lamanai, or Pook’s Hill, all accommodations built near or even among the ruins. You’ll have easy access to archaeological sites from any other lodge on the mainland, many specializing in trips to the ruins closest to them.

• Maya Magnificence: The most spectacular, extensive, and exciting sites are Caracol, Xunantunich, and Lamanai, where impressive ongoing excavations have made these ceremonial centers more accessible to tourists. Other popular sites include El Pilar, whose main attraction is its lack of excavation, and the southern sites of Nim Li Punit and Lubaantun, each with a unique architectural flair.