{"id":2503,"date":"2025-06-05T21:21:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T21:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/?page_id=2503"},"modified":"2025-12-18T19:26:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T19:26:42","slug":"xunantunich-maya-temple","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/xunantunich-maya-temple\/","title":{"rendered":"Xunantunich Maya Temple"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"2503\" class=\"elementor elementor-2503\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-701954e e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"701954e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e30ee33 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"e30ee33\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-35596b1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"35596b1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0996514 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"0996514\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f393d70 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f393d70\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Xunantunich Maya Temple and Inland Blue Hole<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c15da06 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c15da06\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Xunantunich (pronounced shoo-nan-too-neech) is a spectacular ruin perched atop a hill overlooking the Mopan River and the Cayo District, near the border with Guatemala. Xunantunich\u2019s name means \u201cMaiden of the Rock\u201d in the Maya language.<\/p><p>Cross the Mopan River west of San Ignacio on a vehicle ferry to reach Xunantunich or Maiden of the Rock. The main pyramid known as El Castillo is one of the tallest buildings in Belize rising 130\u2032 above the jungle canopy. The reward for climbing to the top with your licensed guide is a spectacular view of the Cayo District and Pet\u00e9n Guatemala.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d6c60fb e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"d6c60fb\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d237887 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d237887\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5bf4c6b elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"5bf4c6b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e5ed2a0 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"e5ed2a0\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e7f5ca7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e7f5ca7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Xunantunich has six major plazas with more than twenty-five temples and palaces. \u201cEl Castillo\u201d (the Castle), the largest rising to 130 feet above the plaza. El Castillo has carved friezes on the east and west sides. The frieze on the east has been preserved and covered with a fiberglass replica of the central mask representing the sun god.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9a51a13 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"9a51a13\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7fb73e7 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"7fb73e7\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fc13024 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"fc13024\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9741f8e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"9741f8e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a8671b9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"a8671b9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5deb3b4 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"5deb3b4\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f16ab25 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f16ab25\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Leave Placencia at 6:30 am for the drive to the majestic Hummingbird Highway with its karst limestone topography intermixed with orange groves. Turn west at Belmopan toward Guatemala and Xunantunich. On the way home, stop along the Hummingbird Highway to enjoy a refreshing swim in Blue Hole National Park. Return to Placencia in the evening around 7:00 pm.<\/p><p>Wear sturdy shoes, a long-sleeved shirt, long pants and a hat, and a swimsuit. Bring a camera, binoculars, insect repellent, sunscreen, and plenty of water.<\/p><p><strong>Fitness Level Required:<\/strong> Low to Moderate<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Xunantunich Maya Temple and Inland Blue Hole Xunantunich (pronounced shoo-nan-too-neech) is a spectacular ruin perched atop a hill overlooking the Mopan River and the Cayo District, near the border with Guatemala. Xunantunich\u2019s name means \u201cMaiden of the Rock\u201d in the Maya language. Cross the Mopan River west of San Ignacio on a vehicle ferry to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":1497,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"tpl-default-elementor.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2503","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Xunantunich Maya Temple - Splash Dive Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/xunantunich-maya-temple\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Xunantunich Maya Temple - Splash Dive Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Xunantunich Maya Temple and Inland Blue Hole Xunantunich (pronounced shoo-nan-too-neech) is a spectacular ruin perched atop a hill overlooking the Mopan River and the Cayo District, near the border with Guatemala. Xunantunich\u2019s name means \u201cMaiden of the Rock\u201d in the Maya language. Cross the Mopan River west of San Ignacio on a vehicle ferry to [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/xunantunich-maya-temple\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Splash Dive Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-18T19:26:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/xunantunich-maya-temple\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/xunantunich-maya-temple\/\",\"name\":\"Xunantunich Maya Temple - Splash Dive Center\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-05T21:21:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-18T19:26:42+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/xunantunich-maya-temple\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/xunantunich-maya-temple\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/xunantunich-maya-temple\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Jungle\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Xunantunich Maya Temple\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/\",\"name\":\"Splash Dive Center\",\"description\":\"World Class Scuba Diving in Belize\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Splash Dive Center\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/cropped-Splash-logo-square.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/cropped-Splash-logo-square.png\",\"width\":250,\"height\":250,\"caption\":\"Splash Dive Center\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Xunantunich Maya Temple - Splash Dive Center","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/xunantunich-maya-temple\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Xunantunich Maya Temple - Splash Dive Center","og_description":"Xunantunich Maya Temple and Inland Blue Hole Xunantunich (pronounced shoo-nan-too-neech) is a spectacular ruin perched atop a hill overlooking the Mopan River and the Cayo District, near the border with Guatemala. Xunantunich\u2019s name means \u201cMaiden of the Rock\u201d in the Maya language. Cross the Mopan River west of San Ignacio on a vehicle ferry to [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/xunantunich-maya-temple\/","og_site_name":"Splash Dive Center","article_modified_time":"2025-12-18T19:26:42+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/xunantunich-maya-temple\/","url":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/xunantunich-maya-temple\/","name":"Xunantunich Maya Temple - Splash Dive Center","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-06-05T21:21:12+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-18T19:26:42+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/xunantunich-maya-temple\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/xunantunich-maya-temple\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/xunantunich-maya-temple\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Jungle","item":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/jungle\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Xunantunich Maya Temple"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/","name":"Splash Dive Center","description":"World Class Scuba Diving in Belize","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/#organization","name":"Splash Dive Center","url":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/cropped-Splash-logo-square.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/cropped-Splash-logo-square.png","width":250,"height":250,"caption":"Splash Dive Center"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2503"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3098,"href":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2503\/revisions\/3098"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.avbelize.com\/splash\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}