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Belize District

Includes  Why Go? Belize City...... 54 What a contrast is the district that shares its country’s Burrell Boom...... 68 name! Belize District comprises 1600 sq miles at the heart of Community the country, and includes its largest population center and Baboon Sanctuary. . . . 69 some of its most pristine tropical bush. Rancho Dolores . . . . . 71 Belize City gets a bad rap for its impoverished areas, some of which are plagued by crime and violence. But the seaside Crooked Tree...... 71 city also embodies the country’s amazing cultural diversi- Old Northern ty, its neighborhoods packed with people, restaurants and Highway...... 73 shops that represent every ethnicity. Old Belize...... 75 A few miles out of the city center, the gritty Caribbean Hattieville ...... 76 urbanism crumbles, revealing a landscape of vast savannah Belize Zoo ...... 77 that stretches to the north, dense tropical forest to the west, Monkey Bay...... 79 and lush marshland to the south. There is plenty to see and do in Belize District – so much that a weeklong visitor Gales Point ...... 80 could spend their entire vacation here, sampling the coun- try’s Maya heritage, Creole culture and luxuriant wildlife, all within an hour’s drive of the city. Best Places to Eat ¨¨Celebrity Restaurant (p62) When to Go ¨¨The Ice Cream ¨¨Mar Baron Bliss Day and Ruta Maya canoe race are both Shoppe (p62) accompanied by colorful parties. ¨¨Nerie’s II ¨¨May Crooked Tree goes nuts for a weekend during the Restaurant (p62) Cashew Festival. ¨¨Sep Belize City engages in two weeks of festivities from National Day (September 10). Best Places to Sleep ¨¨Crooked Tree Lodge (p72) ¨¨Maruba Resort Jungle Spa (p75) ¨¨Black Orchid Resort (p69) ¨¨Tropical Education Center (p78) 53 Belize District BBelize District High . lights )

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