Lamanai Temples & River Cruise: Howler Monkeys & Ruins
Climb the High Temple and hear howler monkeys echo through the rainforest.
This full-day guided tour from Belize City combines a river cruise through mangrove forests and wetlands with a walking tour of Lamanai Temples, an ancient Maya site in northern Belize. You'll climb the Mask Temple and High Temple, visit the Jaguar Temple and Ball Court, and listen to howler monkeys in the forest canopy. The tour includes air-conditioned minivan transport, a native guide fluent in English or Spanish, lunch, national park fees and hotel or airport pickup.
Step-by-step itinerary
Lamanai Temples and River Cruise
- Pickup and drive with guide commentary
- Board boat for river sightseeing
- Observe birds, orchids, and water lilies
- Pass near Amish community of Shipyard
- Arrive at Lamanai river lagoon
- Walk forest paths, see Guanacaste trees and Cohune palms
- Listen to howler monkeys
- Visit Mask Temple and take photos
- Climb Mask Temple for panoramic view
- Walk to High Temple
- Learn about High Temple excavations
- Climb High Temple for northern Belize views
- Descend and visit Ball Court and Altar
- See Stela #9 in residential area
- Visit Jaguar Temple and see Jaguar mask
- Stop for lunch
- Visit on-site museum with artifacts
- Tour concludes with drop-off
What’s included
- Air-conditioned minivan transport from Belize City.
- pickup at your hotel, airport (Sir Barry Bowen Municipal), or water taxi terminal.
- a native guide fluent in English or Spanish.
- river cruise by open-air boat with small canopy.
- entrance to Lamanai national park.
- lunch (local rice and beans with stew chicken and vegetable coleslaw).
- bottled water.
- luggage storage while on tour.
- Every day 07:50
Information
Guided tour of Lamanai Temples from Belize City with river cruise, lunch and park entry included: climb the High Temple, see howler monkeys and crocodiles.
Compare the 4 alternatives
Traveler reviews
The experience
The day starts with pickup from your Belize City hotel or airport, then a drive through rural communities, fruit farms and the historic Old Belize River valley. Once you board the open-air boat, the landscape shifts. You'll pass mangrove forests, grassland wetlands and Caribbean pine forest, watching for birds, orchids, water lilies and possibly crocodiles. The boat ride ends at the New River Lagoon at the edge of Lamanai, where the forest paths begin.
Your guide leads you through towering Guanacaste trees and Cohune palm forest, where you'll hear the distinctive calls of howler monkeys overhead. At the Mask Temple, you climb to the top for a view of the plaza below. A five-minute forest walk takes you to the High Temple, where your guide explains what excavations have revealed about the site before you climb to see the Northern Belize lowlands spread out below. You'll then visit the Ball Court and Altar in the center, pass through the residential area to see Stela #9 (an intricately carved stone depicting the Lamanai dynasty and its ruler, Lord Smoking Shell), and reach the Jaguar Temple to see the jaguar mask carved into the temple wall.
After lunch (local Belizean rice and beans with stew chicken and vegetable coleslaw), you visit the on-site museum to see red clay pots with drawings, altars and stelae from the site. The tour concludes with drop-off at your hotel or airport. The entire experience runs about eight hours, operating rain or shine in an open-air boat with a small canopy. Bring a poncho or rain jacket, sunscreen, a hat and proper hiking shoes for the uneven forest paths and temple climbs.
Top questions
Can I be picked up at my hotel?
You can choose: pickup at your hotel, or go straight to the meeting point. When you book, you choose your hotel from 32 pickup locations; if yours isn’t listed, you arrange it with the operator after booking. Pickup is about 20 minutes before departure.
What languages is the tour guided in?
Live guide in English and Spanish.
Can children come?
Yes. Ticket types: Youth (10 to 17 years); Child (under 10).
What happens if it rains?
It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.
What's the High Temple like when you reach the top?
The High Temple offers a panoramic view of the Northern Belize lowlands and small villages below. Your guide explains the secrets revealed through excavations at the site before you climb, so you understand what you're standing on and why it matters to the Maya history of the region.
Will I actually hear and see howler monkeys on this tour?
Howler monkeys are part of the forest soundscape at Lamanai, and the tour includes time listening to them in the Cohune palm forest canopy. Your guide will point out where they are and explain their role in the ecosystem, though sightings depend on the day and the monkeys' movement through the trees.
What's included in the lunch?
Lunch is a local Belizean meal of rice and beans with stew chicken and vegetable coleslaw, served during a stop in the tour itinerary. Bottled water is provided throughout the day, and you're welcome to bring a refillable water bottle.
Can I climb all three temples, or just some of them?
The tour includes climbing the Mask Temple and the High Temple, both of which offer views from the top. You'll also visit the Jaguar Temple to see the jaguar mask carved into the temple wall, and the Ball Court and Altar in the center of the site.
How does the river cruise work? Is it a separate boat ride or part of the temple tour?
The river cruise is the first part of the tour, taking you by open-air boat from the New River Lagoon to Lamanai. You'll observe birds, orchids, water lilies and possibly crocodiles during this ride, then disembark to begin the walking tour of the temples and forest paths.
What should I wear and bring for an eight-hour tour with climbing and forest walking?
Wear proper hiking footwear for uneven, slippery paths, no flip-flops. Bring a poncho or rain jacket (the boat operates in all weather with a small canopy), sunscreen, a hat, binoculars if you want them, and a camera. There are changing rooms at the car park if you get wet, and you can bring a towel and change of clothes.
Operated by Tourism Auto Transport Ltd.. Explorevia does not run this tour: we compare it with similar options, and you book it with our booking partner.
Prices and times updated yesterday
Lamanai Temples & River Cruise: Howler Monkeys & Ruins
8h · EN · ES
from US$ 179 per person
Next, you choose your date and number of travelers and see the final price.