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The Blue Hole, the country's most famous dive destination, is located in the center of Lighthouse Reef Atoll. Originally a cave, the roof fell in 10,000 years ago as the land receded into the sea. Almost circular, it measures 1,000 feet in diameter and plunges 410 feet. The former cave's stalagmites and stalactites rate as some of the Blue Hole's trademarks. Magnum Belize Tours can arrange day trips from most Belize resorts to experience this natural wonder.

Shark-Ray Alley

To swim with nurse sharks and southern sting rays, visit Shark-Ray Alley, a shallow cut in the reef located to the south and to the inside of Hol Chan Marine Reserve.

Mexico Rocks

Another dive and snorkel site seven miles north of Ambergris Caye is Mexico Rocks. It's rich with many varieties of patch head coral and numerous juvenile fish, making a colorful aquarium.

Bacalar Chico National Park

Located on the northern tip of Ambergris Caye, overlooking the Bay of Chetumal and Mexico, the Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Preserve provides amazing dive opportunities.

Atolls

Three offshore atolls, Turneffe, Lighthouse and Glover's Reef, contain some of Belize's top dives. An atoll is a ringlike, coral island/reef that nearly or entirely encloses a lagoon.

Turneffe, located 25 miles east of Belize City, is the largest of Belize's three atolls. It offers divers a variety of experiences, from drift dives to wall dives and creek dives. One of the favorite sites here is the "Elbow," which includes a steep sloping drop-off as well as shallow reef and a wrecked ship.

Glover's Reef, named for pirate John Glover, lies northeast of Placencia. It's a circular necklace of coral reef surrounding an 80 - square-mile lagoon. It is the least dived and one of the most pristine sites in Belize.

Lighthouse Reef, home to the Blue Hole, is about 50 miles east of Belize City. At the southeast corner is the 45-acre Half Moon Caye Natural Monument, the first reserve to be established by the National Park Systems Act of 1981.

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