Update: Belize Telecommunications Limited (BTL) has a new
Numbering Plan for Belize, effective from May 1, 2002. With this
numbering plan, a new 7-digit number will be applied
countrywide, replacing the existing 4 or 5-digit telephone number,
plus area code. The new system has no area codes (similar to
the system introduced in Guatemala several years ago). You'll now
need dial the entire 7 digits for all calls whether within
the same area or district or to another area or district. I wish I
could tell you about a simple way to convert the old numbers into
the new, but in many cases the conversion code depends on whether
the number is a landline and on the current area code, or a fixed
or mobile cellular phone. However, here are two ways to find out:
You can visit one of two websites set up for the conversion: and ,
then click on the New Numbering Plan icon and type in the
old number in the box. If you're already in Belize you can pick up
a booklet listing conversion codes from any BTL office (locations
of the main ones are covered in the Rough Guide ). BTL
introduced this change with very little warning. Certainly they
made no mention of it when I interviewed a member of their customer
service team last year, while researching the current (2nd) edition
of The Rough Guide to Belize . Many businesses had no idea
of the forthcoming change until I told them, sometimes only weeks
before May 1st. I've tried using the conversion box on the website
and I've found it (generally) works for landline phones (most
numbers in Belize) but didn't do too well on cell phones. I hope
this helps. If you continue to have problems, contact me at and
I'll try to find out the correct number for you. Please note that
most of the numbers listed on this website have been updated.
-Peter Eltringham
Wedged into the northeastern corner of Central America between
Mexico's Yucatán peninsula and the Petén forests of Guatemala,
Belize offers some of the most breathtaking scenery anywhere
in the Caribbean. The country actually consists of marginally more
sea than land, with the dazzling turquoise shallows and cobalt
depths of the longest barrier reef in the Americas just
offshore. Here, beneath the surface, a brilliant, technicolour
world of fish and corals awaits divers and snorkellers. Scattered
along the reef, a chain of islands - known as cayes -
protect the mainland from the ocean swell and offer more than a
hint of tropical paradise. Beyond the reef lie the real jewels in
Belize's natural crown - three of only four coral atolls in
the Caribbean.
Belizeans recognize the importance of conservation and their
country boasts a higher proportion of protected land (over 40
percent) than any other. This has allowed the densely forested
interior to remain relatively untouched, boasting abundant
natural attractions, including the highest waterfall in Central
America and the world's only jaguar reserve. Rich tropical forests
support a tremendous range of wildlife , including howler
and spider monkeys, tapirs and pumas, jabiru storks and scarlet
macaws; spend any time inland and you're sure to see the national
bird, the very visible keel-billed toucan.
Despite being the only Central American country without a
volcano, Belize does have some rugged uplands in the south-central
region, where the Maya Mountains rise to over 1100m. The
country's main rivers rise here, flowing north or east to the
Caribbean, forming along the way some of the largest cave
systems in the Americas, few of which have been fully explored.
These caves often bear traces of the Maya civilization that
dominated the area from around 2000 BC until the arrival of the
Spanish. The most obvious remains of this fascinating culture are
the ruins of dozens of ancient cities rising out of the
rainforest.
Officially English-speaking , and only gaining full
independence from Britain in 1981, Belize is as much a Caribbean
nation as a Latin one, but one with plenty of distinctively Central
American features, above all a blend of cultures and races that
includes Maya, mestizo, African and European. Spanish is at least
as widely spoken as English, but the rich, lilting Creole is
the spoken language understood and used by almost every Belizean,
whatever their first tongue. You'll hear this everywhere - and
though based on English, it's less comprehensible to outsiders than
you might expect.
With far less of a language barrier to overcome than elsewhere
in the region, uncrowded Belize is the ideal first stop on a tour
of the isthmus. And, although it's the second-smallest country in
Central America (slightly larger than El Salvador), the wealth of
national parks and reserves, the numerous small hotels and
restaurants, together with plenty of reliable public transport make
Belize an ideal place to travel independently, giving visitors
plenty of scope to explore little-visited Caribbean islands as well
as the heartland of the ancient Maya