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33 miles (54 km) northwest of Belize City.
Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary is one of Belize’s top birding spots. The 16,400-acre sanctuary includes more than 3,000 acres of lagoons, swamp, and marsh, surrounding what is essentially an inland island. Traveling by canoe, you’re likely to see iguanas, crocodiles, coatis, and turtles. The sanctuary’s most prestigious visitors, however, are the jabiru storks, which usually visit between November and May. With a wingspan up to 12 feet, the jabiru is the largest flying bird in the Americas. TIP For birders the best time to come is in the dry season, roughly from February to late May, when lowered water levels cause birds to group together to find water and food, making them easy to spot. Birding is good year-round, however, and the area is more scenic when the lagoons are full. Snowy egrets, snail kites, ospreys, and black-collared hawks, as well as two types of duck—Muscovy and black-bellied whistling—and all five species of kingfishers native to Belize can be spotted. Even on a short, one- to three-hour tour, you’re likely to see 20 to 40 species of birds. South of Crooked Tree, on Sapodilla Lagoon and accessible by boat, is a small Mayan site, Chau Hiix.
Getting Here and Around
An easy 25-minute drive north from the international airport takes you to the entrance road to Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary at Mile 30.8 of the Goldson Highway. From there it’s another 2 miles (3 km) on an unpaved causeway to the sanctuary visitor center and Crooked Tree village. If you don’t have a rental car, any of the frequent non-express buses going north to Orange Walk or Corozal will drop you at the entrance road, but you’ll have to hike across the causeway to the village (or arrange a pickup by your Crooked Tree hotel). Jex buses leave from the corner of Regent Street West and West Canal Street in Belize City and go directly to the village, currently three times daily except Sunday (BZ$4).
Timing
One full day is enough to do a canoe trip on the lagoon, hike local trails, and see the small Creole village. But if you’re a birder, you’ll want at least another day.
Bus Info
Jex and Sons Bus Service. | Crooked Tree Village | 225/7017.
Exploring
Crooked Tree Village.
One of Belize’s oldest inland villages, established some 300 years ago, Crooked Tree is at the reserve’s center. With a population of about 900, most of Creole origin, the community has a church, school, and one of the surest signs of a former British territory: a cricket pitch. There are many large cashew trees around the village, the serpentine growth pattern of which gave the village its name. The cashews are highly fragrant when in bloom in January and February, and when the cashew fruit ripen to a golden yellow color in May and June, they taste something like mango and smell like sweet grapes. The cashew nuts require roasting to make them edible. Villagers make and sell cashew wine. A Cashew Festival is held annually in early May. | Off Philip Goldson Hwy. (formerly Northern Hwy.) | Crooked Tree | 223/5004 | www.belizeaudubon.org.
Crooked Tree Visitor Center.
At the Crooked Tree Visitor Center at the end of the causeway where you pay your BZ$8 sanctuary admission fee, you can arrange a guided tour of the sanctuary or rent a canoe (around BZ$10–$20 per person per hour) for a do-it-yourself trip. The sanctuary is managed by the Belize Audubon Society. You can also walk through the village and hike birding trails around the area. If you’d prefer to go by horseback, you’ll pay around BZ$30 an hour. The visitor center has a free village and trail map. If you’re staying overnight, your hotel can arrange canoe or bike rentals and set up tours and trips. Although tours can run at any time, the best time is early in the morning, when birds are most active. | Crooked Tree Sanctuary Visitor Center | Crooked Tree Village | 223/5004 Belize Audubon Society | www.belizeaudubon.org | BZ$8 | Daily 8–4.
Where to Stay
Bird’s Eye View Lodge.
B&B/INN | Many of the 20 spic-and-span rooms, all with air-conditioning and all recently refurbished, at this modern concrete hotel have views of the lagoon. There’s a two-story main building and an annex next door, covered with bougainvillea and other flowers, and you’ll find that the friendly service is consistent with Belize’s down-home reputation. The best rooms are the deluxe doubles on the second floor of the original building. Camping is available (BZ$20). The hotel’s appealing dining room serves filling Creole and American fare. The lodge also offers many kinds of tours, including a “birding-by-boat” early-morning cruise on the lagoon (BZ$50 per person, if there are at least five going), horseback riding (BZ$30 an hour), and a croc-spotting night safari (BZ$200 for up to three). Transportation from the international airport is BZ$150 for up to three persons. Pros: on shores of Crooked Tree Lagoon; delicious meals made with local ingredients; breezy second-floor patio with great lagoon views. Cons: undistinguished, blocky buildings; no-frills guestrooms. | Rooms from: BZ$167 | Bird’s Eye View Lodge, on lagoon | Crooked Tree | 203/2040 | www.birdseyeviewbelize.com | 20 rooms | Multiple meal plans.
FAMILY | Fodor’s Choice | Crooked Tree Lodge.
B&B/INN | Owned by a British-Belizean couple on the site of the old Paradise Lodge, this lodge has six comfy hardwood cottages on a gorgeous 11½-acre site on the shores of the Crooked Tree Lagoon. A main lodge building houses a restaurant. The two-bedroom cabin is ideal for families. Camping is available (BZ$20). Dinner is BZ$30. Children under 12 eat free. Pets are welcome. Many birds can be seen on the grounds, and the lodge can arrange birding trips with the top guides. Pros: wonderful lagoon-side location; friendly hosts; good food. Cons: no air-conditioning. | Rooms from: BZ$131 | Crooked Tree Lodge, on Crooked Tree Lagoon | Crooked Tree | 626/3820 | www.crookedtreelodgebelize.com | 5 cabanas and 1 2-bedroom cottage | Multiple meal plans.
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