El Pilar Mayan
Ruin Site in Belize

Departure: anytime between 8:00 am and 2:00 pm
Drive time: 45 minutes

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.

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.

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.

See our Photo Gallery for more images, or watch our El Pilar Slideshow