Page 42 - Visitor Guides

A Jewel of white sand cayes encircling

Belize’s richest Coral Reefs

From the air, Lighthouse Reef Atoll is a dazzling island necklace of white sand cayes encircling a sapphire blue
lagoon. On the extreme edge of the Belize reef system, miles beyond the main barrier reef, these isolated atolls
support the greatest diversity of reef types and marine life. Formed over millennia, the coral reefs grew on top

of the inundated Maya Mountains as sea levels rose (some 10,000 years ago as the last ice age retreated) and
eventually formed an oval shaped wall of corals around a shallow sand and coral lagoon. Stunningly beautiful
islands, a sheltered lagoon brimming with life and the dynamic interaction between the outer reef, open seas

and inner lagoons are the prime attractions of our atoll basecamp on Half Moon Caye.
To get to Lighthouse, we travel by boat beyond the main barrier reef, past Turneffe Atoll – some fifty-five
miles east of the mainland where the underwater walls of Lighthouse atoll rise 3000 feet from the surrounding
depths of the sea. The inner protected lagoon provides a rare underwater habitat for snorkelers with miles

upon miles of shallow, warm waters studded with corals and where the lagoon drops off to the open sea,
precipitous walls, undersea ridges, canyons, tunnels and valleys brimming with life are the deeper realm of
scuba divers. Long difficult to access and out of reach for kayakers and snorkellers, Island Expeditions has
pioneered the first-ever basecamp at Lighthouse Reef where we sleep in spacious walk-in tents, each with an

ocean view. You may begin your day with a morning yoga class, and after each day’s activities our open-air
dining pavilion and lounge is the perfect place to relax in comfort with fine meals, splendid company and
conversation charged with the excitement of the day’s adventures.

Lighthouse Sandbore Caye •
Reef Atoll • Northern
Two Caye
Lagoon depth
to 35 ft

Numerous
Coral Heads
Reef wall
drops off
to 3600 ft
Western
Wall Great
Blue Hole
HMNC Marine
• Long Caye Conservation
Hat Area
Caye
Wall • Erlmund Wreck
•
Hat • Halfmoon Caye
Caye Halfmoon Wall

For detailed itineraries visit www.lighthousereef.travel | www.belizeadventures.travel 17