San Ignacio and Santa Elena are towns in western

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

. San Ignacio serves as the cultural-economic hub of

Cayo District Cayo is a district located in the west part of Belize, and it contains the capital, Belmopan. It is the most extensive, second-most populous and third-most densely populated of the six districts of Belize. The district's capital is the town of S ...

. It got its start from

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

and

chicle Chicle () is a natural gum traditionally used in making chewing gum and other products. It is collected from several species of Mesoamerican trees in the genus '' Manilkara'', including '' M. zapota'', '' M. chicle'', '' M. staminodella'', and ...

production during British colonisation. Over time it attracted people from the surrounding areas, which led to the diverse population of the town today. San Ignacio is the largest settlement in Cayo District and the second largest in the country, after

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize. It was once the capital city, capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2022 census, Belize City has a population of 63,999 people. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a ...

History

The town was originally named El Cayo by the Spanish. On 19 October 1904, El Cayo was officially declared a town by the government of

British Honduras British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973

. In the past a creek ran between the Macal and the Mopan rivers one mile outside of San Ignacio going toward Benque Viejo. This creek then fulfilled the definition of an area of land completely surrounded by water and thus the name Cayo, "island". There was a large wooden bridge across this creek in the late 1940s, but since the creek eventually dried up, the area was filled with limestone gravel and today there remains no evidence of its existence. The demise of the creek, however, took away the distinction for the classification of a 'cayo' from the venerable western town of 'El Cayo' and returned it to a regular land mass.

Geography

San Ignacio is situated on the banks of the Macal River, about 63

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

s (101 km) west of

and 22 miles (35 km) west of the country's capital:

Belmopan Belmopan () is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. Belmopan is the smallest capital city in the continental Americas (by population) and the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and San Ignacio. Fou ...

. The town has an area of approximately . File:Street scene in san ignacio.jpg, Street scene in San Ignacio File:San Ignacio Town Street, Belize.jpg, View of San Ignacio, looking towards the Hawkesworth Bridge File:Burns Ave in San Ignacio.jpg, Burns Avenue File:Small park in downtown san ignacio in front of the police station.jpg, Small park of downtown San Ignacio in front of the police station File:Belize independence day celebration sept.21 2012.jpg, Belize independence day celebration Hawkesworth Bridge 2017.jpg , Hawkesworth Bridge

Demographics

The population is largely

Mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

, followed by Kriol, and some Lebanese and Mopan Maya. San Ignacio also boasts a fairly large Chinese population, most of whom emigrated from

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

in waves in the mid-20th century. The

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

community of Spanish Lookout is situated a few miles outside San Ignacio. The 2010 census counted 17,878 inhabitants in San Ignacio and Santa Elena, of whom 8,751 are males and 9,127 are females. The total number of households is 4,351 and the average household size is 4.1.

Santa Elena

In recent years San Ignacio has absorbed the formerly separate town of Santa Elena. San Ignacio and its sister-town Santa Elena make up Belize's third largest urban area. The two towns are connected by Belize's only

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

, the one-lane Hawkesworth Bridge across the Macal river, built in 1949 and another one-lane, low-lying wooden bridge at the market and a two lane bridge, the Santa Elena Bridge constructed in 2018. The two are collectively referred to as the "Twin Towns" although San Ignacio has a larger population. , Santa Elena has a population of 7,389 compared with San Ignacio's population of 10,489.

Government

San Ignacio is currently governed by a town council affiliated with the United Democratic Party (UDP). The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

is Earl Trapp, also of the UDP. Town council elections are held every three years to elect the mayor and council. Both UDP and

People's United Party The People's United Party (, PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the governing party of Belize after success in the 2025 Belizean general election, winning a majority of 26 seats out of 31 in the Belizean Hou ...

(PUP) candidates participate in town elections. The next municipal elections are scheduled for the year 2020. At the national level, the San Ignacio/Santa Elena area is represented by three

constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

in the Belize House of Representatives, Cayo Central, Cayo North and Cayo North East.

Educational institutions

San Ignacio has three main colleges. Sacred Heart College of Catholic denomination is the largest institution, with both a high school and a junior college division, and is one of the largest high schools in Belize. Eden Seventh Day Adventist High School and Saint Ignatius High School (Catholic) are also found here. Galen University was founded in 2003 and is located at Central Farm, a couple of minutes east of San Ignacio. The University of Belize also has an agricultural campus next to Galen.

Health care

The city is served by the San Ignacio Hospital, which is a regional clinic, and the Loma Luz Adventist hospital in Santa Elena. It also has various clinics, doctors and pharmacies scattered around town, and "the only official medical electives program run by Belizians."

Attractions

The area around San Ignacio is one of the most popular parts of the country for tourism. Nearby attractions include the ancient Maya ruins of Caracol, Xunantunich, Cahal Pech, and El Pilar. Notable caves to explore include the

Actun Tunichil Muknal Actun Tunichil Muknal (the Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre), also known locally as ATM, is a cave in Belize, near San Ignacio, Belize, San Ignacio, Cayo District, notable as a Maya civilization, Maya archaeological site that includes skeletons, c ...

cave, which includes skeletons, ceramics, and stoneware, and Barton Creek Cave, which is popular among adventure tourists interested in cave canoeing, as well as Crystal Cave at St. Herman's, also known as Mountain Cow Cave, which is challenging physically as visitors have to descend a 15-foot drop to see stalactites, stalagmites, massive crystal formations, ancient ceremonial fire pits, relics, wall carvings, and actual skeletal remains of Mayan sacrificial victims. Also popular among adventure travelers are nature reserves such as the Chaa Creek Nature Reserve, and the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. A day trip to Mountain Pine Ridge allows visitors to go on several hikes and visit waterfalls, caves, and Maya ruins.

References

External links

Maps of San Ignacio, Belize
* - Belize Travel Magazine * http://sanignaciotown.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:San Ignacio (Town)