Actun Tunichil Muknal
Belize's most extraordinary adventure — ATM cave requires swimming through an underground river to reach a Maya ceremonial chamber filled with pottery and crystal-encased skeletal remains.
BCV · MZBP · Belize
Hector Silva Airstrip
Belmopan — Belmopan & Cayo District. 10 min to Belmopan / 30 min to San Ignacio.
Runway
700m
Surface
Grass
Elevation
243m
Hours
7am-6pm
Book your private flight to Belmopan
Airport at a glance
Belmopan — Belize
Belmopan is the capital of Belize and one of the newest purpose-built capitals in the world. It exists because Hurricane Hattie destroyed Belize City in 1961, and the colonial government decided the country needed an administrative centre 80 kilometres inland and 46 metres above sea level rather than on a hurricane-exposed coastal sandbar.
The Hector Silva Airstrip runs along the northern edge of the city off the George Price Highway. It has a small terminal building, and — the fact that matters most for anyone planning — there is no scheduled airline service to Belmopan.
At 46 metres (150 ft) elevation, in Cayo District. ICAO: MZBP. Coordinates: 17°16′10″N, 88°46′35″W. The Belize VOR-DME (Ident: BZE) lies 31 nautical miles northeast. Daylight operations.
This is a medium-capacity runway, taking aircraft up to the C-130 class since the 2002 extension.
The Belize Defence Force uses the strip for temporary landing facilities, and it was expanded by the British Army in 2002 specifically to accept larger aircraft including the Lockheed C-130 Hercules — which tells you a good deal about its capability, even in the absence of a confirmed declared distance.
The absence of scheduled service matters if your business is in the capital. Anyone travelling to the Belizean government, the diplomatic missions, the University of Belize or the international organisations headquartered in Belmopan has no scheduled flight option at all — the alternative is a two-hour drive from BZE. A charter into Hector Silva removes it.
Getting there
Hector Silva Airstrip — Getting there
| Belize City | ~20 min | ~2 h |
| Placencia | ~30 min | ~3 h |
| San Pedro | ~35 min | — |
| Flores, Guatemala | ~35 min | ~3 h + border |
Nearby
Things to do near Belmopan
Belmopan sits at the edge of the Cayo District, and Cayo is where Belize stops being a beach destination.
Actun Tunichil Muknal — the ATM cave — is 45 minutes away and is, by a wide margin, the most extraordinary archaeological experience in the country. You swim into the entrance, wade and climb a kilometre of river cave, and emerge into a chamber holding Maya ceremonial vessels and skeletal remains left in place where they were deposited over a thousand years ago, including the calcified "Crystal Maiden". Cameras have been banned since 2012 after a visitor dropped one on a skull. Guides are mandatory and numbers are capped.
Blue Hole National Park and St Herman's Cave, 20 minutes south on the Hummingbird Highway, are a karst sinkhole and cave system — not to be confused with the marine Great Blue Hole offshore, which is an entirely different thing and a common source of confusion.
Guanacaste National Park, at the junction just outside the city, is small, walkable and good for a first hour in the forest.
Xunantunich and Caracol lie west and southwest. Caracol is the largest Maya site in Belize, with Caana — the Sky Palace — still the tallest man-made structure in the country.
Belmopan was designed from nothing in the late 1960s, and the National Assembly building is the clearest statement of the idea behind it: a concrete structure whose massing deliberately echoes a Maya ceremonial plaza, built by a country that was about to become independent and wanted to say so architecturally. Most of the foreign embassies followed the government inland during the 2000s, which is what turned Belmopan from an administrative shell into a working city.
Caracol
The greatest Maya city in Belize — Caracol's Caana pyramid at 43m is still the tallest man-made structure in Belize, with over 36,000 structures across a site larger than modern Belize City.
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve
Belize's highland wilderness — Mountain Pine Ridge protects granite peaks, clear rivers, Hidden Valley Falls (the tallest in Central America) and some of the finest eco-lodges in Belize.
Private Helicopter — Belize Jungle
Exclusive private helicopter flights over the Cayo District — aerial views of Caracol's jungle-covered pyramids, Mountain Pine Ridge's waterfalls and the vast lowland forest of western Belize.
VIP Archaeological Tours — Cayo District
Private expert-led expeditions to Cayo's Maya sites — Caracol, Xunantunich, El Pilar and Cahal Pech, with exclusive sunrise access, private archaeologist guides and helicopter options.
Private Cave Expeditions
Belize's remarkable cave systems — private guided expeditions to ATM, Barton Creek Cave and Actun Chapat, with Maya artifacts, crystal formations and underground river crossings.
Hidden Valley Falls & Waterfalls
Mountain Pine Ridge's spectacular waterfall circuit — Hidden Valley Falls drops 457m making it one of the tallest in Central America, with private access trails and swimming holes.
Wildlife Photography Safari — Cayo
Private photography safaris in Belize's Cayo District — jaguars, tapirs, harpy eagles and the extraordinary biodiversity of the Maya Forest with professional nature photography guides.
Specialized Birdwatching — Cayo
World-class birding in Belize's Cayo District — over 400 species including scarlet macaw, harpy eagle and the rare orange-breasted falcon, with expert local guides and exclusive reserves.
Where to stay
Hotels near Belmopan
When to fly
When to fly
Inland Cayo is warmer by day and cooler at night than the coast, with a dry season roughly February to May and a wet season June to November. Cave trips including ATM close after heavy rain when river levels rise — this is a real seasonal constraint, not a formality.
FAQ
Hector Silva Airstrip — Frequently asked questions
Is there scheduled airline service to Belmopan?
No. Hector Silva Airstrip has no scheduled service; access is by charter, private aircraft or a two-hour drive from Belize City.
What aircraft can use Belmopan?
The strip was expanded by the British Army in 2002 to accept larger aircraft including the C-130 Hercules, and the Belize Defence Force uses it.
Where is the airstrip?
On the northern edge of Belmopan off the George Price Highway, at 46 m elevation, in Cayo District. ICAO: MZBP.
Why is Belmopan the capital?
Hurricane Hattie destroyed Belize City in 1961, and the capital was moved 80 km inland to higher ground.
What is Actun Tunichil Muknal?
A river cave 45 minutes from Belmopan containing Maya ceremonial deposits and human remains left in place, including the calcified "Crystal Maiden". Guides are mandatory and cameras have been banned since 2012.
Is Blue Hole National Park the same as the Great Blue Hole?
No. Blue Hole National Park is an inland karst sinkhole on the Hummingbird Highway. The Great Blue Hole is a marine sinkhole at Lighthouse Reef, 70 km offshore.