Op-Ed, Part 6: Belize Adventure Takes Hikers High Into the Mountains

This is the sixth in my series on the St. Croix Hiking Association’s adventures in Belize, one that hikers will never forget due to our emotional connection with the Mayan people, the hiking, and camping in the mountains.

That morning at Pals on the Beach hotel in Dangriga, we ate breakfast and packed our backpacks with hiking gear, sleeping bags, bug spray, and other camping equipment for an overnight camp in the mountains of the Tiger Fern Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. Believe me, that morning everyone looked forward to visiting the sanctuary. It would be the adventure of all adventures, especially camping in the mountains and exploring the wildlife sanctuary trails, waterfalls, and animal life.

In 1984, Cockscomb Basin Wildlife in Belize was declared a forest preserve. Later, the forest preserve became known as the Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Preserve, which was established in 1986. It was the world’s first sanctuary for jaguars, the largest cat in the Americas. The preserve was created after wildlife biologist Dr. Alan Rabinowitz discovered a large population of jaguars in the Stann Creek district, the south-central mountain range of Belize. The wildlife preserve has grown from 3,600 acres to over 125,000 acres of primarily rainforest with an annual rainfall of 100 to 150 inches of rain per year.