A favorite spot for serious birders, EL Pilar is a 100 acre Middle Pre-Classic and Late Classic Mayan site which is currently being excavated by the University of California. The site is situated 12 miles northwest of San Ignacio in the Cayo District. The abundance of natural water sources in this vicinity is possibly the origin of the name El Pilar ("pila" being Spanish for watering basin).

Entering ~ Inside Corbel Vault

A number of buildings at El Pilar reach 50 to 70 feet in height, and the central plaza ruins consist of temples, palaces, and housing for the elite. Large water reservoirs and ball courts are located within the center of the complex.

One particularly interesting feature is a causeway that extends from the eastern part of the ruins across the country border into Guatemala. Thus far, 12 pyramids and 25 plazas have been found at El Pilar. This is three times the number found in nearby sites such as Xunantunich and Cahal Pech. The site was occupied between (500 BC) and (1000 AD) periods.

In contrast to other nearby sites, El Pilar remains virtually the same way today as when it was discovered, as most structures are in the earliest stages of excavation, however ambitious archaeological research is well underway at this site.

Site Excavation 

There are no large-scale clearings ....
Instead look for trails and selected exposures of sample architecture. Currently, El Pilar has a total of five trail systems, three archaeological and two primarily nature trails intended to provide insight into the agro-forestry of the ancient Maya.

El Pilar is excellent for birding, hiking, and provides an insight into Belize's sub-tropical forests. Birds such as toucans, Mot-Mots and large numbers of parrots frequent the area during the early mornings and late evenings.

Nature Trail

Getting to El Pilar ....

El Pilar is 7 miles beyond the village of Bullet Tree Falls. Take the Bullet Tree Road from San Ignacio, cross the Mopan River bridge in Bullet Tree, then look for signs directing you to the scenic, all-weather El Pilar Road. 

Visit and enjoy El Pilar as part of a Birding Package or as part of a personalized "Create Your Own" CAYO Vacation Package.

See Vacation Packages for a complete listing of our
Create Your Own, All-Inclusive and Fixed-Rate packages.

My Birding experience at El Pilar

Comments & Photos by Edwin Salas

I never thought that Bird Watching would be such an adventurous activity that I would enjoy so much. I went along with a very nice couple "Mary & John" and our guide "Fermin". As an amateur birder myself, I depended a lot on Fermin's experience on spotting the different birds.

On our way to El Pilar, we stopped at a number of times along the road-side, where Fermin would show us his "hotspots" for birding. My plan was to take as many pictures, of as many birds as possible, for future reference and Fermin even helped me in taking some close up pictures with his scope, as my normal camera's zoom wasn't strong enough most of the time for the ones far away.

When we reached the entrance of El Pilar, we took a Birding path "Bird's without Borders", which offered us right off the bat with a beautiful bird (male) called "Slaty-Tailed Trogon" and I got to take some nice pictures of it.

Once we entered the site, it was a bit of a challenge spotting the birds as we were right underneath the jungle canopy... NOT a challenge for Fermin, as he had no problem finding them for us; I started to get a little neck pain from looking up the trees trying to spot a rare bird (Name), and then what do you know? I single-handedly spotted a "Red-Lored Parrot" and had Mary and John's gratitude for it.

After having the opportunity for some good picture taking of the beautiful birds and of the ruin, we decided to head on back to our vehicle, as we were all very hungry. We headed back to Cayo "San Ignacio" where we had a nice lunch at Hannah's Kitchen, where I ordered a Pork Quesadilla and Mary and John decided to share one as it was a huge quesadilla but nonetheless, very delicious.

We then headed back to our Jungle Lodge at duPlooy's for a well earned rest at the Bird Deck by the bar for an ice cold Belikin beer.

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