Belize's hot springs are a small, wild pair, and both of the 2 listed in this directory sit in the southern Toledo District near Punta Gorda. The warm sanctuary pools of Aguacaliente Wildlife Sanctuary lie at the end of a guided rainforest hike, while Warm Spring Creek runs through the grounds of a Rio Grande eco-lodge. Both of the 2 listed here are free to reach. Wild rainforest springs, not resorts, define the country.
The Aguacaliente Wildlife Sanctuary sits in the rainforest about 13 miles from Punta Gorda, deep in the Toledo District. The warm spring at Aguacaliente Wildlife Sanctuary Hot Springs lies inside a 5,492-acre protected wetland, reached by a roughly two-hour hike guided by the nearby community of Laguna village. It is one of the 2 Belizean springs listed here, and the wilder of the pair, set among wetland forest that the sanctuary also protects for migratory birds and other wildlife. Visitors arrange the hike through Laguna village rather than through a ticket office or a gate.
Big Falls, about 18 miles from Punta Gorda along the Rio Grande, holds the country's other warm spring. The free Warm Spring Creek at The Lodge at Big Falls runs through the grounds of an eco-lodge, reached by a short path with no facilities on site. This southern spring, with Aguacaliente, completes the directory's Belizean entries. It sits in lowland rainforest along the Rio Grande, an easy base for exploring the Toledo District and its Maya villages, a day trip apart from the coastal town of Punta Gorda.
Belize has no developed thermal resorts, and its hot springs are quiet rainforest sites rather than built pools. Both of the 2 springs listed here are free and lie in the remote Toledo District, which sets Belize apart from countries with ticketed spa complexes. Access depends on a guided hike or a lodge path rather than a gate. Belize has no active volcanoes, so its springs are warm rather than scalding, fed through limestone lowlands instead of volcanic heat. These sit within the wider hot springs in North America.
