Visitor facilities upgraded at Maya site
With access to its ancient temples limited to those with the ability to cross Corozal Bay, the ancient Maya site of Cerros has remained well off the beaten path for tourists and Belizeans alike. But officials are betting that new improvements for visitors will open the attraction to wider exposure. Jose Sanchez took the trip and returned with the following report.
Jose Sanchez
“One of the treasures of Northern Belize is a Mayan site, protected by the tranquil waters of the Corozal bay. Cerros Maya Archaeology Reserve has entertained only a few hundred visitors a year, but recent infrastructural developments intend to attract tourist dollars to a ruin that was once a thriving Mayan trading post.
Rosita May, President, BTIA-Corozal
“As people in the tourism industry, our interest and commitment to our area has always been the development of the tourism product. We saw Cerros as a perfect attraction that should have been developed and enhanced, therefore we got involved in this particular project. It took us a number of years to be able to carry it out since as you know, Cerros has been sort of left alone for too long and nobody trusted that it would profit to spend money here or time and effort.”
But one organisation who believed in BTIA’s vision is the Protected Areas Conservation Trust. PACT has issued a grant of thirty-four thousand dollars to make the site more accessible and organised for everyone.
Emelda Lizarraga, Programme Officer
“What we do is give funding to protect and also to conserve protected areas, and archaeology reserves are protected areas. Therefore when a project like the Cerros project comes into our office, we review it and we see what are the needs of the site and then if it falls into our criteria then we could fund it.”
“This project was basically to achieve the construction of the visitor centre, the construction of the picnic pavilion, and the improvement of the trails. We opened new trail areas and we did some promotional materials for Cerros.”
BTIA and PACT were not the only stakeholders in the venture. The government has taken the responsibility for its maintenance. With eight laborers and two guides, the management of the site has been trusted to the Archaeology Department.
Yashin Dujon, Director of Parks and Personnel
“The Department of Archaeology is the governing body for the archaeology reserves throughout Belize. And particularly here in Cerros, this was a long awaited project, the building of the tourist centre and the pavilion to accommodate tourists that we get coming across from Corozal.”
Rosita May
“In the past when you wanted to come to Cerros you had to look for fishermen somewhere with his little dory. Today we have a number of licensed boats that are doing tours to Cerros and it’s simply because people see the potential in the area, therefore they have invested money on their boats. So today we have different boats that bring people to Cerros and I must say that the number of visitors has definitely increased since this area has developed.”
Reporting for News 5, Jose Sanchez.
To continue the beautification of the site, work has already begun on the construction of a botanical garden.
