Meeting 'Stone Lady' - tour to Xunantunich

Black Orchid Resort offers you to take a trip to Mayan archaeological site Xunantunich – one of the biggest attractions in Cayo District, and one of the most impressive Mayan ruins in all Belize. This great tour is offered for $95 USD per person. It can be scheduled for the next day when you arrive or you can e-mail us to make prior arrangements (or call resort’s Front Desk +501 225-9158). The trip takes around 5 hours, but you can book longer combined tour, visiting Belize Zoo or taking Cave Tubing and Zip-Lining at the same day together with Xunantunich. (See full list of our Belize Tours).

Xunantunich rests atop of one of the highest plateaus in the area, perched high on a hilltop overlooking the Mopan River. We highly recommend you to make the steep, but short, climb to the top of the pyramid “El Castillo”, which vantage point provides a breathtaking panoramic view over the jungle of 3 river valleys and vast area of Guatemala (that is only a few miles away). You will also get a close look at the restored portions of two unique stucco friezes. Now, a wonderful new visitor's center has been built which displays a model of the site, photos, maps and graphical explanations of significant events in the development of the city.

The name, according to one interpretation, means ‘Maiden of the Rock’ or ‘Stone Lady’ in the Yucatec dialect of Mayan language. It is pronounced "Zshoo-NAN-too-NEECH". Early Belize Maya settlers may have established a small village here during the Middle Preclassic period (600-300 BC), but the ancient city, as we know it, rose to prominence and declined between 700 and 900 AD. This late development is unusual: while most other cities in the region were waning during the troubled Terminal Classic period (800-900 AD), the fortunes of Xunantunich were on the rise. It reached its peak around 850 AD, when Tikal had already begun to be abandoned and the Mayans were ceding their organized reign of the region. It was occupied until around 900 AD and was likely abandoned after an earthquake, the evidence of which was discovered by archaeologists.
Six major plazas are ringed with more than 25 temples and palaces. The highest temple is called ‘El Castillo’, which at 130 feet (40 m) offers a beautiful view of the villages below and into neighboring Guatemala.This pyramid is large by Mayan standards and is only exceeded by the Caana pyramid at Caracol. The most remarkable features at Xunantunich are two stucco friezes that band two sides of El Castillo, representing the moon and sun gods, Venus, a jaguar, the days of the Mayan week and a headless person (that’s still a mystery why he had been decapitated…). Several important stelae have been unearthed here, now housed in a new building by the guard’s house. It was the first site in Belize opened to the public, when the road and a ferry were built in 1954. New ferry has been inaugurated in October 2012, which is bigger than the previous. Nowadays Xunantunich is one of the most visited sites in Belize.

Late 19^th century local legend tells of a gentleman from the village of San Jose Succotz who went hunting near the site. Crossing the base of the Castillo, he was struck by the appearance of a beautiful statuesque Maya maiden, dressed in traditional “huipil” and “pik,”,and dazzling in the rays of the rising sun. The woman stood motionless by the mouth of a cave which extended beneath the large structure. Stricken by her appearance, the man threw his gun aside and ran downhill to the village. After recounting his tale several villagers led by their native priest returned to the site. Arriving at the large mound they found the mouth of the tunnel, but the stone maiden had disappeared. Thereafter locals claim that the woman has appeared to several others but none have been able to follow her into the cavern.

You can learn also about other Belize Tours and Adventures offered by Black Orchid Resort.