Chiquibul

Chiquibul National Park was established in 1991 in western Belize, in the Maya Mountains and next to the Guatemalan border, and at some 1,073 km² it is the largest in the country. It forms part of a wider forest complex that constitutes the largest block of continuous rainforest in Central America north of the Darién.

Beneath its surface extends the Chiquibul cave system, the most extensive in Central America, with tens of kilometres of galleries cut by the Chiquibul River into the limestone. One of its halls, the Belize Chamber, is among the largest in the world. The system crosses the border and continues into Guatemalan territory.

Inside the park lies Caracol, the largest Maya city in Belize, which in the Classic period came to exceed the country's present capital in population and which militarily defeated Tikal in the sixth century. Its Caana pyramid is still the tallest structure in Belize. The forest is home to jaguar, Baird's tapir, scarlet macaw and a complete Central American fauna. Its main threat is cross-border incursion for logging, hunting, xate harvesting and farming, a chronic problem that has led to episodes of border tension.