Punta Gorda and the Toledo Villages

Southern Belize offers wild, remote attractions serviced by a crop of creative accommodations throughout the district. Improvements to the Southern Highway and daily air service to and from Punta Gorda [1] (PG) are helping to put Toledo on the map as the “Unforgettable” corner of Belize, rather than its traditional reputation as “Forgotten” corner.

Toledo District’s attractions include small, remote villages, caves, waterfalls, and offshore cayes. Still, Toledo remains about as off the beaten track as you can get in Belize.

Toledo District is a blend of many cultures—Q’eqchi’ and Mopan Maya, mestizo, Mennonite, Garinagu, Creole, Caucasian, Chinese, Palestinian, and East Indian, to name a few of the local communities. More than 10,000 Q’eqchi’ and Mopan Maya are subsistence farmers in the Toledo countryside.

Toledo is the district in Belize with the lowest per capita income, and it 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 growth and real estate swapping around Punta Gorda are showing themselves—the cacao trail [2], and the cheap hotels and backpacker digs have been around longer.

Tourism continues to arrive in the region in small, interesting doses: student groups, researchers, botanists, chocolate lovers, and independent travelers interested in the area’s world-famous ecotourism programs.

The Best of Punta Gorda [3]

• The Waterfront [4]
• Lubaantun [5]
• Aguacaliente Wildlife Sanctuary [6]
• Village Guesthouses and Homestays [7]
• Blue Creek Cave [8]