Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve: An Excursion Into Belize's Pristine Nature and Ancient Mysteries
4.9
23 Ratings
San Ignacio
Embark on an exciting adventure in Belize's Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. Explore pristine forests, cool rivers, and mysterious caves while discovering ancient ruins and geology. Swim, hike, and relax in the natural beauty of Cayo District's remote areas!
Duration: 7 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights

The Mountain Pine Ridge reserve is over 100,000 acres of protected forest. It is comprised mainly of Honduras pine and some wetlands, the Macal River valley and some subtropical forest. The area is mainly granite and limestone, and is home to numerous rivers, springs, waterfalls and caves. This is truly a nature lover’s haven! There is a small forest ranger post and very little habitation, except for a couple of isolated Maya communities and a small settlement of Mennonites. A former logging settlement at San Luis is now abandoned because the area has been protected since the 1940s.

What's Included
  • Rum punch
  • Professional guide
  • National Park fees
  • All taxes, fees and handling charges
  • Round-trip transfer
  • Lunch with a drink
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Escape the heat of the lowlands and explore the nature reserve of the Mountain Pine Ridge. Discover where cool rivers flow through pristine forests and caves while waterfalls provide beauty and mystery.
Swim, hike, and relax in the natural scenery on an outing into the more remote areas of Cayo District. Here ancient ruins and ancient geology combine in a modern setting for an amazing experience in nature!

  • A minimum of 2 people per booking
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • What to bring: Hiking sandals or trainers, towel, small backpack, liter of water, bug spray, snacks, swim wear with shorts, camera
  • Difficulty: Easy to moderate
  • Comfortable walking shoes are recommended
  • Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there is not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund
Location
19 Burns Avenue
Burns Avenue
Directions: MayaWalk Tours Main Office located between Tandoor Restaurant and Belize Bank Return point: Returns to original departure point
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(23 Ratings)
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Maritza
Jan 25, 2024
So beautiful!! - This was a great change of pace. We did the ATM caves first and then this tour. I was nervous since there weren’t many reviews. I’m so glad we did this tour. First stop is a cave that you can walk around and take pics. Second and third stops you swim. I wore my swimsuit under my clothes but we did stop and there was a place to change. The two waterfall spots were beautiful! We had a group of 8 of us so much smaller group and it was a nice change from atm caves that have sooo many people. We were given as much time as we wanted at each location. It was amazing! Josiah was a fantastic guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Erikblaney
Jan 2, 2024
Beautiful Park and a must see - Waterfalls were amazing and the kids had a blast. Go early to beat the rush but even during the busy period there were only about 30 people there. Water is refreshing and cool
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Vadamov
Jan 1, 2024
Great jungle hike with Maya Walk - We used Maya Walk Tours for this trip and we only have compliments for the company. Well organized with great customer service. Their cook also makes delicious Belizean chicken served on the trip. Our guide Chemo (Anselmo) was great. He shared lots of knowledge of local history and customs, animals, plants and agriculture. It was great to visit 3 different places on this walk, and to dip in the waterfall pools. Would love to come back and explore more of the surroundings.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Claymuffin
Jan 18, 2023
A refreshing look at Pools, Caves and Waterfalls in a stunning Pine tree Forest - It was so nice to have a stress free tour with engaging conversation from Josiah (Mayawalk Tours) our guide and driver to the Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. He knew the terrain and we would advice everyone to hire a company to take them instead of wrecking their rental. The photos he took and gave to us after will always be a wonderful memory of that trip. He was very thoughtful and took care of all our needs safety wise and included lunch during
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Britbze
Sep 30, 2022
Amazing time! - We had an amazing time and Jason was awesome, super passionate and patient with us. We can’t wait to return to our beautiful Belize and hopeful to have Jason as our tour guide again! Thank you for the amazing experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Megdiazukxxx
Sep 30, 2022
Amazing - It was an amazing experience swimming in the waterfalls , me and my sister had the best time. the lunch was great we had rice and beans with chicken and rum punch. Jason who was our tour guide did such an amazing job, he knows his stuff and he’s great at his job
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kate
Dec 22, 2021
Perfect Excursion for Beauty, Adventure, Culture - This was everything we had hoped for: beauty, adventure, history, culture, and fun. Our guide was Anselmo, who has Mayan ancestry and shared such rich insights on the Mayan culture and Belize history as we drove from San Ignacio to the highlands. He was funny, patient, accommodating, and overall a great host. Our first stop was Big Rock Falls, which includes the biggest adventure of the trip. You climb down a set of rickety old wooden steps through the forest to get to the falls. Then the guide helps you navigate the safest way across the very slippery rocks to swim across the main pool toward the falls. The water was cold, but it was worth it to experience the beauty and peace. Anselmo was smart to make this our first stop as we had it all to ourselves. The second spot was Rio Frio Cave, a truly sacred place to visit respectfully. It is not an adventure cave; it is wide and tall, not requiring squeezing through narrow passages. Standing in the middle, you can see both ends. Again, Anselmo’s knowledge added richly to this unique site. After coming out the cave, Anselmo spread a picnic blanket on a table and set out a wonderful Belizean meal of rice and carrots and stew chicken, plus rum punch. This ultimately was the best meal I had in all my 9 days in Belize (and we ate at a wide variety of restaurants!). Our final stop was Rio On Pools, a beautiful setting for sitting and enjoying the beauty even if you don’t see like getting wet. There are changing rooms for getting in/out of your swimming attire. The roads to get to these locations are a bit of an adventure themselves. Be prepared for a rough and bumpy ride. (We loved it, but it’s not for everyone.) Even my 17-year-old said she thoroughly enjoyed every part of this excursion. Thank you, Anselmo and Maya Walk Tours!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Svetlanatravelworld
Oct 3, 2020
Great birding tour - We (me and my son) experienced a great birding tour with tour guid Francis. It was a great trip to the mountains. We saw many birds including orange breasted falcon, laughing falcon and others. Will definitely coming back to explore more of beautiful birds and a beautiful country! Highly recommending ! BR, Svetlana
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rachell2562
Feb 16, 2020
Lively tour with beautiful sights - We went on the Mountain Pine Ridge tour with Joshua and Julio and had an amazing time--breathtaking views of the waterfall and pools, plus a large cavern and creek that's fun to climb around and explore. We went with my mother-in-law who was 70, and she was able to reach every site on the trip thanks to our guides' patient guidance. We really could not have asked for more considerate guides--Joshua helped her down the steps to the waterfall, lending a helping hand when needed, and they laughed and joked the whole time. We had such a great experience we decided to do a second tour with MayWalk the following day--cave tubing at the Nohoch Che'en Caves Branch Archaeological Reserve.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Richardxu96
Jan 17, 2020
Fun day - This was my first tour in San Ignacio. Our tour guide, Francis, was great and even provided lunch with rum punch. There are 3 stops. The first is to a cave, then to the Rio pools, and finally a waterfall. There's more sitting the car than the other tours I did between the stops.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
June 2024
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