Mayflower Bocawina National Park’s 7,100 acres of Maya Mountain wilderness were set aside in 2001, to protect and show off the area’s waterfalls and green-fringed Maya ruins. The trail system offers excellent hiking and it’s an adventurous climb to Antelope Falls.

A walk in Mayflower can be combined with a day trip to Cockscomb (just to the south) or can easily fill a whole day or more. There is a campground at the park entrance (US$10 pp); bring your own gear.

The biggest challenge to enjoying Mayflower is simply getting to the trailhead, which lies 4.5 miles west of the Southern Highway with no public transport of any kind making the trip. The turnoff is just north of Silk Grass Village.

The park office and interpretive center, where you’ll register and pay US$5 per person, greet you when you arrive. The office is open 8 a.m.–4 p.m. daily.

For information, go to Silk Grass Village and seek out Ramon and Doreen Guzman (tel. 501/503-7309). Ramon is a long-time park warden and Doreen is an officer in the Friends of Mayflower Bocawina National Park, an organization that co-manages the park with the government.

Another contact is Genovivo “Gino” Peck, found in his Tsimin Chac thatch-roof restaurant on the Southern Highway in Silk Grass. Gino (tel. 501/668-7202) is a warden at Mayflower. If he can’t take you into the park, he’ll find someone who can.

Getting to Mayflower Bocawina National Park

In Dangriga, C & G Tours and Charters (29 Oak St., 501/522-3641 or 501/610-2277, www.cgtourscharters.com) can arrange a trip to Mayflower; in Sittee River, Horace Andrews is the best guide around (tel. 501/603-8358, www.belizebyhorace.com).