LA MILPA

Located in dense tropical forest in the Rio Bravo Conservation Area, this site is the third largest in Belize. La Milpa was once a major ceremonial center in northwestern Belize.

Though not much is known about the history of La Milpa, evidence has shown that this city followed the similar pattern in development as other Mayan sites in the vicinity. All through the classic period this site is marked by its remarkable growth. Many experts theorize that the surrounding forest was completely cleared for agricultural use. The population of La Milpas probably took quite a strain on the surrounding environment. The city continued to grow until the ninth century when it collapsed. After that the interior regions were depopulated. Evidence of a Yucatec long house though, indicates that a different Maya culture occupied the site shortly after the collapse.

The ruins of La Milpa rise majestically out of the surrounding forest. This site contains about 24 courtyards and 85 structures. The tallest buildings of the main plaza rise 66 feet above the plaza floor. This plaza is one of the largest plazas in the Mayan world. Dwellings are everywhere, from simple rounded huts to the grand palaces of the elite. A secluded three-court acropolis dominates the southern part of La Milpas.

This site was first recorded in a regional archaeological sites survey in the 1930s. It was heavily combed by looters prior to the 1988 excavation, who damaged most of the temples with trenches and pillaged valuable artifacts that might have been of vital importance to finding the history of this site. Now La Milpa is under the constant vigilance of the non-governmental organization Programme for Belize.

La Milpa, once a great Mayan center, has pretty much returned to the forest from which it came. It now keeps company with the birds and jaguars instead of Mayan leaders. Howler monkeys call out occasionally though the rich flora and recall the ghost of the past La Milpa.