Fodor's Expert Review Belize Botanic Gardens

The life's work of ornithologist Ken duPlooy, the personable Judy duPlooy, and their family is the 45-acre Belize Botanic Gardens. It's an extensive collection of hundreds of trees, plants, and flowers from all over Central America. Enlightening tours of the gardens, set on a bank of the Macal River at Sweet Songs Jungle Lodge, are given by local guides who can tell you the names of the plants in Mayan, Spanish, and English as well as explain their varied medicinal uses. If your family is looking for a fun group activity, there are also tea tasting tours, a tamale-making class, and a palm workshop. An orchid house holds the duPlooys' collection of more than 100 orchid species, and there also is a palm exhibit. The Botanic Gardens also run gardening programs for Belize residents as well as great birding opportunities.