One Night in Belize: A Feast of Nature & Culture
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- Category: Packages
- Published on Monday, 06 February 2012 22:14
- Written by Trys
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One Night in Belize: A Feast of Nature & Culture
For those travellers with crowded itineraries and only a little time left for Belize, there is a “One Night in Belize program” that is well worth considering.
It’s offered by the Orchid Garden Eco-Village Hotel, which has occupied the no.1 spot for Inns or B&Bs in and around Belize City on the TripAdvisor traveller review index for quite some time.
The package includes round trip airport transfer, one night’s
accommodation, and a Belizean cuisine dinner & breakfast special. The food in this pretty small, Eco-friendly establishment is often fêted, as you’ll see if you read some of the reviews for the place. What adds interest and substance to their 24 hour program, however, is the included Eco-tour through the Orchid Garden itself.
As the name of the hotel suggests, it prides itself on its Eco-sustainable practices, and it lays on a surprisingly informative Eco-tour that lasts around 90 minutes. If you want to get a flavour of Belize but only have 24 hours in which to do so, this tour may well persuade you to come back again for longer!
The nature and culture tour in this Eco-Village is an unforgettable experience. This journey starts with their green building, a shining example of Eco-technology: it covers Eco-sustainable building materials, strategies for the efficient use of natural light, ventilation, irrigation, greening and decoration as well.
At the same time, you will be introduced to some of Belize’s tropical treasures, such as the Mayan tree of life, the tree that changed the history of Belize, The Belize national tree, the grass that is taller and harder than most trees and many other interesting and important treasures from the rain forest in Tropical Belize.
The area they call their “birding courtyard” attracts 80+ species of birds – an amazing variety in such a small area. They are there because of the different fruit and nut trees that have been planted to provide food for them.
The nature trail takes in a Savannah bush area that has been protected from
wildfire for more than 30 years. Many of the plants have medicinal qualities, and others are associated with the particular cuisine of different cultural groups within Belize.
They have created a wetland area that is increasingly attracting many different species of waterfowl, and they have a well-established green iguana sanctuary.
At the end of the trail is what they call “The Eco-Village Museum”. Coming out of the high bush and setting eyes on this amazing house for the first time is an experience in itself. You may feel you just wandered on to the film-set for a remake of Gone With The Wind! It features four exhibitions: “A Belize History in Bottles”, “Expressions of Belize on Canvas”, “Nature’s Artistry in Stone” and “Nature’s Artistry in Roots”.
The whole thing can justly be described as a “unique” experience. I never came across anything else quite like it in my three years in Belize.
