There’s a lot going on in southern Belize—wild, remote attractions serviced by a new crop of creative accommodations. Improvements to the Southern Highway and daily air service to and from the Punta Gorda is helping to put Toledo on the map as the “Unforgettable” corner of Belize, rather than it’s traditional reputation as the “Forgotten” corner. The majority of Toledo District’s attraction gems are found in the form of remote villages, caves, waterfalls, and offshore cayes. It seems natural that the area’s tourism scene will keep growing. For now though, Toledo is still about as off the beaten track as you can get in Belize.

Toledo is the district in Belize with the lowest per capita income, and is also the most expensive in which to live. Money earmarked for development and tourism rarely finds its way south, although the first signs of development and real estate-swapping around Punta Gorda are showing themselves and there are finally a few upscale lodges in the area in addition to the cheap flophouses and backpacker digs that have been around a lot longer.

Up till now, tourism has been coming to the district in small, interesting doses: Student groups, researchers, and independent travelers have shown a great interest in the network of Maya villages and the world-famous ecotourism programs hosted there. Of course there are also Garinagu, Mennonites, and your typical assortment of foreigners, including the biggest concentration of Peace Corps Volunteers in the country.

Big changes may be afoot for sleepy Toledo. The controversial Plan Puebla Panama, a massive big-business-oriented infrastructure project that is part of hemisphere-wide free trade agreements, may use the area as part of a new isthmus-long super highway, opening up the Southern Highway for international trade across the new Guatemalan border crossing at Jalacte. For travelers, this would mean additional options to loop back up into Guatemala.

For the local Maya, however, who have always been the most marginalized people in Belize, it could be disastrous. Many Maya families who came to Belize as unofficial homesteaders have never needed to accept traditional Western ideas of landownership; efforts to secure them titles are now underway before their plots get snatched away from under their feet. Having won their case before the Organization of American States (OAS) Commission on Human Rights, Maya groups are now taking their land claims before the Belize Supreme Court.

Other foreign-fueled business ventures in the area include the discovery of oil near Barranco. The future of this site is uncertain; and apart from temporary employment chopping bush for a few villagers, locals have yet to benefit.

The Best of Punta Gorda

• The Waterfront
• Lubaantun
• Aguacaliente Wildlife Sanctuary
• Village Guesthouses and Homestays
• Blue Creek and Blue Creek Cave
• Barranco