TOLEDO HOLIDAYS

Toledo, the southern most district of Belize, is the least populated and most unspoilt. It is ideal for those who want to explore its natural riches or simply find physical and spiritual refreshment in the peace of the rainforest. The district is extraordinarily well endowed with cultural and environmental attractions.

Toledo is home to diverse ethnic communities. Almost all of the Mayan villages of Belize are here in Toledo. A visit to one of these villages, such as San Pedro Colombia, San Antonio, San Jose or Santa Elena offers an opportunity to learn a little of Mayan culture at first hand.

There are Mopan and Kekchi Maya, Garifuna, East Indian, Creoles, Hispanics and Mennonites. The village of Big Falls is one of the most mixed communities in the district with households from almost every ethnic group living side by side.

You can experience the annual deer dance in the Kekchi Mayan village of San Antonio, and the Garifuna Settlement Day on November 19 in the village of Barranco celebrates the arrival of the Garifuna people on the coasts of Belize in 1832.

There is music and dancing followed at dawn by a re-enactment of the arrival of the first settlers in their dories. In 2002 the United Nations designated the Garifuna as a World Heritage culture, a designation that recognizes and urges the protection and preservation of threatened cultures.