What to see in Belmopan, itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including Parliament Palace and Guanacaste National Park.
Tourist information
Belize capital located on the Mopan River, tributary of the Belize River, Belmopan has a name that derives from the union of the first letters of the word Belize with the name of the Mopan River.
When, in 1961, Hurricane Hattie devastated Belize City, the old capital of the country located on the coast, it was decided to move the headquarters of the capital inside, starting construction in 1967 on a previously uninhabited site, located at a distance about 80 km from Belize City.
What see
Not being very large, Belmopan can be visited comfortably on foot, in it there are the buildings that house government offices, the parliament building, ministries and some embassies, there are also many green spaces and, in the area of Piazza del Mercato , you can appreciate a nice variety of stalls and shops.
The Department of Archeology is housed in the government offices, which has the task of safeguarding the important archaeological finds found throughout Belize.
The Belize Archives Department displays exhibits concerning local history, hurricanes, the Garifuna population and Baron Bliss, an English nobleman who was a great benefactor of Belize.
The Guanacaste National Park, two kilometers away from Belmopan and located at the confluence of the Belize River and Roaring Creek, allows visitors to observe the fauna and tropical vegetation.
The park takes its name from a large and old Guanacaste tree, spared from the woodcutter because of its split trunk.
