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Facts about Orange Walk:
With a population of over 20,000, Orange Walk is the largest town in the north of Belize with an area of 1790 square miles (4,636 square km), and the center of a busy agricultural region. Villages found in Orange Walk are: August Pine Ridge, Blue Creek, Carmelita, Douglas, Indian Church, Guinea Grass, San Antonio, San Carlos, San Estevan, San Felipe, San Jose, San Jose Palmar, Nuevo San Juan, San Lazaro, San Luis, San Pablo, San Roman, Santa Cruz, Santa Martha, Shipyard, Tower Hill, Trial Farm, Trinidad and Yo Creek. The town is a mixture of Spanish, Maya, East Indians, Chinese and visiting Mennonites. Spanish, English and Creole are the most common languages spoken.
Orange Walk was founded by Mestizo refugees fleeing from the Caste Wars in Yucatan in 1849; it was previously dominated by loggers for over a hundred years. The Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area, a large private nature reserve in the Yalbac Hills, is also located in this district. The land is highly cultivated with sugar cane as well as sorghum, rice, corn and vegetables by Mennonite farmers. Other settlements with smaller numbers of inhabitants may also be found, as well as ancient Mayan sites such as Cuello, Lamanai, Noh Mul and Chan Chich.
Orange Walk centers around a distinctly Mexican-style, formal plaza, shaded by large trees, and the town hall across the main road is called the Palacio Municipal, reinforcing the strong historic links to Mexico. The town isn't heavy on sights, but, on the riverbank just north of the centre, it does feature the Banquita's House of Culture, a well-run museum and cultural centre overseen by the National Institute of Culture and History.
The Maya Site of Lamanai is one of Belize's largest ceremonial centers and is located on the banks of the New River Lagoon in North Central Belize. Lamanai features the second largest Pre-Classic structure in the Maya world and unlike other ruins much of Lamanai was built in layers where successive populations built upon the temples of their ancestors, instead of destroying them. Lamanai is translates to "Submerged Crocodile" that's the reason for the numerous representations of crocodiles among the ruins. It provides a unique experience into the culture of the Maya and the biological diversity of the tropical forest.
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