El Pilar
Departure: anytime between
8:00 am and 2:00 pm - Drive time: 45 minutes
See the Photo
Gallery for more or watch the El Pilar Slideshow
Located outside of the village of Bullet
Tree a few miles from San Ignacio, El Pilar
is not a ruin for the average thrill seeker.
It is not very excavated, focusing rather
on the vegetative areas that would have
served the Maya and typical Maya agriculture.
For aspects of the Maya lifestyle and a
glimpse of how the Mayan ruins looked before
excavation, as well as truly great birding,
El Pilar is a special place to visit for
nature, archaeology and ethnobotany lovers.
Interested in this
tour? See our rates,
or include this tour in one of our packages.
El Pilar: Gateway to Guatemala
Since El Pilar has not yet been excavated,
its historical context is still in question,
but there are some initial indicators. On
the basis of size alone, the site was unquestionably
an important one: of significantly greater
scale than Xunantunich.
Pilar is one of Belize's largest Classic
Maya centres. At least 15 courtyards or
plaza groups cover an area of 20 hectares
(50 acres). The centre of Pilar consists
of temples, palaces and elite structures,
the tallest structure standing 70ft above
the Plaza. At least one ball court has already
been located. One of the most interesting
features of the site is a 3 to 5ft wall
which runs westward from the site and into
Guatemala. It is not yet known what the
purpose of this wall was, nor has the end
of it yet been found. It's interesting to
note that the largest lowland Maya site,
Tikal, lies just 32 miles west of El Pilar
in Guatemala.
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There are picnic facilities in the center
of the site as well as beautiful photographic
vistas of both Guatemala and Belize. Several
rest stops have been constructed along the
trails and the reserve also has bathroom
facilities. One of the longer trails (1½
miles) ends at a wonderful small waterfall
with pools which make a refreshing stop
after a hike. El Pilar is considered by
many as one of the finest bird-watching
sites in Western Belize.
El Pilar has been highlighted by the World
Monument Fund's 100 Most Endangered Sites
in the World list (1997) along with sites
such as Pompeii, the Taj Mahal and Ankor
Wat. Research has revealed that construction
at El Pilar began in the Middle Preclassic
(450 B.C.) and continued with major remodeling
completed in the Terminal Classic (1000
A.D.). This long sequence spans more than
15 centuries and testifies to a continuous
and methodical development in the area.
In contrast to neighboring Maya sites,
El Pilar remains essentially the same as
when archaeologists first identified it.
The large-scale clearing of rainforest and
structures has been rejected in favor of
environmental trails and the exposure of
choice examples of architecture - a stair
here and a room there. This concept prevents
the degradation of exposed structures and
preserves important archaeological information
for future generations and future archaeological
technologies. There are, however, significant
structures open for the public including
an underground corbeled tunnel, a standing
temple and examples of elite architecture.
The area has long carried the name of El
Pilar and while the origin of this name
is obscure, the numerous natural sources
of water speak to the old Spanish word for
watering basin or pila, whose collective
in Spanish is El Pilar.
Interested in this
tour? See our rates,
or include this tour in one of our packages.
See the Photo
Gallery for more or watch the El Pilar Slideshow
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