Aguacaliente Wildlife Sanctuary

Southern Belize


About 13 miles northwest of Punta Gorda and 2 miles off the Southern Hwy, the village of Laguna is the starting point for the 8.6-sq-mile Aguacaliente Wildlife Sanctuary, an extensive wetland area. The lagoon, at the heart of the park, is home to flocks of ibis and woodstork, many raptors including ospreys, plenty of kingfishers and herons and the odd jabiru stork. There's a visitors center on the trail from the village.

The two-hour hike in can be wet and muddy and is sometimes impossible at the height of the rains.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Southern Belize attractions

1. Living Maya Experience

7.22 MILES

Two Kekchí families in Big Falls village have opened up their homes as a cultural experience for visitors and both are excellent. The Cal family…

2. Blue Creek Cave

7.58 MILES

About a 20-minute walk along a jungle path from the bridge is Blue Creek Cave, which you can only enter with a guide. The cave has a ‘wet side,’ where you…

3. Chaos Oasis

7.9 MILES

One of the stranger things you're likely to see in Belize is this 'Earth Ship' structure, made even more incongruous because it's so close to the entrance…

4. Lubaantun

7.94 MILES

The Maya ruins at Lubaantun, 1.3 miles northwest of San Pedro Columbia, are built on a natural hilltop and display a construction method unusual in the…

5. Uxbenka

9.83 MILES

The Maya ruins of Uxbenka are close to the village of Santa Cruz on the road from San Antonio. The site is mostly undeveloped and the visible part is…

6. Clock Tower

10.29 MILES

The clocktower is a useful landmark in the center of Punta Gorda's downtown, as well as being a small cafe.

7. Río Blanco National Park

11.31 MILES

The 105-acre Río Blanco National Park, just west of Santa Elena village, is a compact protected wildlife area that's home to a variety of flora and fauna…

8. Temash-Sarstoon National Park

11.5 MILES

The tiny Garifuna fishing community of Barranco (population 160), about an hour's drive from Punta Gorda, is the access point for Temash-Sarstoon National…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "belize/around-punta-gorda/attractions/aguacaliente-wildlife-sanctuary/a/poi-sig/1529823/1340938",
      "destination": "Southern-Belize",
      "continent": "Central-America",
      "country": "Belize",
      "region": "Southern-Belize",
      "position": "superzone"
    }