San Ignacio, Belize

School children in San Ignacio, Belize
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:September_15,_2005_by_Beemans.jpg
Author: Beemans


San Ignacio is a town in western central Belize. With a population of about 16,000 people (2011 estimate), it is the main town and district capital of Cayo District. The town is located on the banks of the Macal and Mopan rivers. It is about 35 km (22 mi) from the national capital, Belmopan, and 115 km (68.5 mi) from Belize City.

San Ignacio was established during British colonial times as the area was rich in mahogany and chicle. The early settlers comprised Mestizos and Kriols. Joining them later were Lebananese and Mopan. There was also a wave of Cantonese-speaking settlers who came from Guangzhou in the mid 20th century.

San Ignacio has the only suspension bridge in Belize. It connects the town with the village of Santa Elena. Together, these two entites form the second largest urban area in the country.

Main street in San Ignacio
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Ignacio_Main_Street.jpg
Author: Apie

Visiting San Ignacio

The most comfortable way to reach San ignacio is to drive yourself. If that is not possible, an alternative is to take the public bus from Belize City. The journey takes between two and three hours.

Places of Interest in San Ignacio

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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