The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge began their final full day of engagements in Belize with a trek to the Caracol archeological site in the heart of the country.
William and Kate trekked to the 3,000-year-old site in the Maya Mountains and within the Chiquibul National Forest alongside an archeologist, Allan Moore, who likened the site and the view to Buckingham Palace.
The royal couple climbed the 141-foot “sky palace” called Caana and took in the surrounding view, with Kate exclaiming “Wow” as she saw the terrain around them. The Mayans once thought that Caana would help them to better communicate with the gods. The site is five times larger than Belize City, which is 35.67 km².
In an interview with People magazine, Moore spoke of the significance of the royal visit, saying that William’s visit could be “for the same reason as anyone—to see what life was like back then and to compare to what life’s like now and how society has evolved. Three thousand years ago they would think that was modern. It is a contrast, a comparison for him.”
Caracol allegedly earned its name due to its spiral access road ahead of the site; the word is modern Spanish and can mean snail or shell, but also refers to a spiral shape.
The Kensington Palace social media accounts captioned the photos of their forest trek “What incredible views today. It was an honour to be here at this iconic Mayan monument in the Chiquibul Forest.”
Following their tour of Caracol, the royal couple joined British and Belizean soldiers for a session at the jungle training facility of the British Army Training Support Unit and later attended an evening reception at the Cahal Pech ruins.
William and Kate wrap up their visit to Belize on March 22nd, and continue their tour of the Caribbean with visits in Jamaica and the Bahamas before ending the tour on March 26th 2022.
