Caracol and
Lubaantun
Caracol, a Classic Period complex, covers
30-square miles of thick, high-canopy jungle,
and includes five plazas, an astronomic observatory and over 35,000 buildings which
have been identified. The loftiest among them,
a massive pyramid (Caana) which is capped by three temples and rises over 140 feet above
the jungle floor.
Lubaantun dated to the mid-Late Classic period, it is built on a hilltop, 200 feet above sea level and surrounded on three sides by two streams which come together at the southern tip of the hill. The name, which is Yucatec Mayan for "Place of the Fallen Stones," was given by the explorer Thomas Gann in 1924, in reference to the state of the ruins. Prior to that it was known as the Rio Grande Ruins. The original Mayan name is not known.
Step back in time to the
ancient Mayan Ruin sites of Xunantunich,
“stone woman”
The "Stone Woman" refers to the ghost of a woman claimed by several people to inhabit the site. She is dressed completely in white, and has fire-red glowing eyes. She generally appears in front of El Castillo; ascends up the stone stairs and disappears into a stone wall.
Nim Li Punit
Nim Li Punit, meaning "big hat"
in Mayan, was only discovered in 1976. This site has been classified as strictly a Late Classic period site. Situated along the top of a ridge in the foothills of the Maya Mountains, the site has a commanding view of the coastal plains of the Toledo district.
