The 'Hattieville Ramada' (as it's called on the streets) is the only prison in Belize and, as such, it houses criminals of all stripes, from pickpockets to murderers. But don't expect some sort of American-style corporate-owned Supermax with imposing concrete walls topped with electrified razor ribbon. Belize's prison is a low-key affair surrounded by farmland where the inmates work. It's renowned for its prisoner-education programs and the attached gift shop that stocks handicrafts made by the inmates.
Belize Central Prison
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
13.01 MILES
If most zoos are maximum-security wildlife prisons, then the Belize Zoo is more like a halfway house for wild animals that can't make it on the outside. A…
13.59 MILES
This modern museum in the Fort George District provides an excellent overview of the story of Belize, told through exhibits housed in the country's former…
23.89 MILES
Some of the most spectacular snorkeling in Belize happens just a short swim off the powder-white sands of Goff's Caye, a tiny, uninhabited island just a…
13.33 MILES
This heart and soul of Belize City life, crossed by just about everyone here just about every day, is said to be the only remaining manually operated…
27.91 MILES
Perhaps the most fascinating Maya site in Northern Belize, Lamanai lies 24 miles south of Orange Walk Town up the New River (or 36 miles by unpaved road)…
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28.13 MILES
The Mask Temple (Structure N9-56) was begun around 200 BC and modified several times up to AD 1300. It has two 13ft stylized masks of a man in a crocodile…
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13.38 MILES
The country's most innovative and exciting art gallery stages new exhibitions and hosts regular book launches, usually of work by Belizean artists…
21.62 MILES
Altun Ha, the Maya ruins that have inspired Belikin beer labels and Belizean banknotes, stands 31 miles north of Belize City, off the Old Northern Hwy…
Nearby attractions
8.99 MILES
This is the original Old Belize, which manages to pack the country's entire ecological, archaeological, industrial and political history into a 15-minute…
9 MILES
If you are desperate for some beach time but you can't leave the Belize City area, this artificial beach is not a terrible option. It's a 350ft stretch of…
3. Traveller's Heritage Center Museum
11.93 MILES
Out on the northern highway, this is an interesting little rum museum. You'll get to see the bottling process, learn how to make Belizean cocktails and…
4. CBS Museum & Visitor's Center
12.38 MILES
In a newly constructed building, CBS Museum & Visitor's Center has a number of good exhibits and displays on the black howler, other Belizean wildlife and…
12.38 MILES
Since 1985, more than 200 landowners in seven villages northwest of Belize City have signed pledges to preserve the habitat of the black howler monkey,…
12.99 MILES
A narrow graveyard between two roads where you'll see the graves of early citizens of Belize who were not prominent enough to be buried in the nearby St…
13.01 MILES
If most zoos are maximum-security wildlife prisons, then the Belize Zoo is more like a halfway house for wild animals that can't make it on the outside. A…
13.18 MILES
Immediately inland of Government House stands St John's Cathedral, the oldest Anglican church in Central America. It was built by slave labor between 1812…