Are you looking for a place to stay in Belize? Black Rock Lodge in San Ignacio, Belize is a luxurious eco lodge destination that immerses you in both jungle and adventure. We didn’t realize what we were getting ourselves into, and this place blew any expectations we had out of the water!
Black Rock Lodge is nestled in dense rainforest with the Macal River below that flows through the Maya Mountains of Belize. Total immersion into nature, there are twenty cabins with en-suite bathrooms, hammocks, and unique views of the surrounding landscape.
How to Get to Black Rock Lodge
Heading 2.5 hours west from Belize City (Ladyville Int’l Airport), we drove to the town of San Ignacio on a new main stretch of highway, the George Prince Highway. It’s a relatively new highway, and traffic control is only large speed bumps the entire route every 1-3 miles. There were literally no traffic lights the whole way.
Although these make it tougher to stay at a consistent cruising speed, the locals selling water, tamales, and other snacks at the speed bumps made for an interesting experience. We recommend getting some tamales if you have the chance!
Before we reached San Ignacio, we stopped on the outskirts of the city to stock up on food, supplies, and other essentials. There are several smaller towns on the way there if you want to do the same. Otherwise, there are also plenty of stores to get anything you need in San Ignacio.
After that, we pulled into the parking lot of a local pizzeria. We shared a pizza and had some Beliken’s (Belize’s local beer). Reaching San Ignacio was only the beginning of our adventures in western Belize.
Once you get to San Ignacio, Black Rock Lodge is approximately seven miles off of George Prince Highway. Although this distance seems relatively close, it can take up to 45 minutes to get there! 4WD is recommended, but we did fine with 2WD because there was no mud or rain at the time. If there’s a chance of rain, we recommend you play it safe and rent a 4WD vehicle. Following narrow passageways along the river, the signage to Black Rock Lodge is good and keeps you from getting lost. By the time we were halfway to the lodge, it was dark and difficult to see. However, I did find it peaceful being the only people on the dirt road. It’s always a nice change from driving in city traffic.
The Lodge
Black Rock Lodge offers five different cabin types that are sprawled out over the landscape. Their service is top notch, and they do a great job of knowing what guests are staying in each room. This makes for a very personal experience, where the staff is able to provide you with the utmost hospitality, service, and tailor their advice and recommendations uniquely to you.
We stayed in two different rooms during the 3 days we were at Black Rock Lodge. Each room is surrounded by windows encompassing 3 out of 4 walls, with all of the windows having privacy curtains too. Each cabin also comes with a private porch, and a unique view of either the jungle or Macal River below. All this to say that you really can’t go wrong, whichever cabin you end up in.
Sustainability
Black Rock Lodge prides itself on their sustainability practices. It is an eco-lodge, after all. The lodge also offers any of their guests what they call a “sustainability tour,” where a guide takes you on a tour through the property, explaining their sustainability methods. We learned that the lodge itself is powered by hydro from mountain streams, solar power, and some help from generators as needed (between 2-3 hours/day, depending on the season). Power is drained during the day, and replenished throughout the night.
All of the food at the lodge is organic, from vegetables to chickens to tilapia. Previously, the lodge also had goats and horses on the property, but they realized these animals were less sustainable than the owners desired.
The property also has artificial wastelands (constructed wetlands). A constructed wetland is an engineered sequence of water bodies designed to treat wastewater. There are various levels of filtration that absorb and filtrate the toxins from the wastewater. Solids decompose in the ground, the water is odorless, and the water is tested to confirm its purity.
The Environment
Around the lodge, you are completely surrounded by wildlife and nature. At night, howler monkeys, birds, insects, reptiles, and other animals make you feel like you’re far from alone. The howler monkeys can be incredibly annoying- even the locals think so too! Particularly because their noises are very loud, and can be aggressive-sounding.They talk to each other throughout the night, especially when the sun starts to rise. It disturbed my sleep for sure. It sounds like you’re part of a conversation between monkeys on opposite sides of the river.
As annoying as the chatter could be, it is one of the coolest experiences I’ve had. Laying in bed, the noises of the jungle and the wildlife give me an appreciation for all the other beings we live side by side with. Hearing this, as opposed to the typical city noises, just somehow makes life feel simpler.
Activities at Black Rock Lodge
Black Rock Lodge has a number of hikes and other activities around the property. They also have a designated activities guide to help explain any of the activities and/or hikes, as well as arrange anything you may need such as a guided tour or transport. We preferred to do things ourselves, so we opted out of any tours, but still received useful information from the guides.
Hiking
There are multiple hiking trails available to you from the lodge. Some guided, a few unguided. The activity guide will be able to provide you with a map of the different hikes around.
We hiked an unguided 1.5 mile loop with a 1,000 foot elevation gain to a lookout. There’s an additional 1 mile (30 meter) vista loop if you’re feeling adventurous. We headed out right after breakfast, and it was hot and humid from the start. To avoid this, it might not be a bad idea to start earlier in the day.
There are multiple benches throughout to rest on and take in the sights of the river and surrounding cliffs. Bug spray is highly recommended! There’s a plethora of ants, spiders, and birds, with an occasional snake encounter. The lookout was great, and definitely worth the hike! After summiting the mountain we were on, we took a turnoff on our descent on a trail about 4 minutes off the beaten path. There’s a sign leading you to a cave, and ropes for you to hold onto while you traverse down the steep dirt trail.
Caving
When you get to the cave, the entrance is inviting with a large entryway that you can stand tall in. Once you get inside, there are tunnels between each chamber, and trekking through them requires crawling on your hands and knees. However, after the tunnels, there’s enough room that you’re able to stand in each chamber. We only made it to chamber 2. We felt like this was enough for us.
Bring water! You’ll need to stay hydrated because we were sweating a ton. The caves get colder the further you venture into them. Make sure to bring a flashlight too, and watch your head! We only saw spiders, but were warned we might see birds, bats, and snakes within the caves. Claustrophobia became more and more real as we got deeper into the cave.
This was one small cave we went to, but there are a ton around this area. Check out what Black Rock Lodge recommends on their website.
Tubing
Tubing is another fun activity that you can do, right at the lodge. However, it’s completely dependent upon the water flow of the Macal River. There wasn’t enough rain the first day and a half we were there, but water was luckily released from a reservoir upstream towards the end of our stay. If the water’s too low, there are too many rocks exposed to tube safely down the river.
You can choose to tube with a guide for a small fee, or by yourself. The rentals for the equipment are complementary to those who stay at the lodge, and as long as you’re confident navigating in the water, the freedom of doing it by yourself is well worth it.
The lodge provides a life vest, helmet, and tube.
It’s a 20-30 minute hike to the tubing entry point, with the option to hike further to Vaca Falls. Along the route there are about 3 or 4 rapids/waterfalls, the last waterfall being the ultimate adventure and white water experience. The guides told us that 9/10 guests fall out of their tube going over this waterfall, Evelyn was 1 of the 10 that didn’t!
When you fall out, locate your tube and ride the current until it’s safe to get back in. All of the rocks are slippery, so avoid trying to get out of the water via one of these. Floating down the river is mellow and relaxing until you get to the last waterfall.
At the end of this portion of the river, there’s a slow moving pool with a rope swing. There’s a beach, chairs, and places to relax next to the river while others jump off of the rope swing. This was a great treat to the end of our tubing experience! I swung on the swing multiple times while Evelyn simply watched.
How to Make This Blog Post a Reality
Once you fly into Belize City/Ladyville Int’l Airport, it’s fairly easy to rent a car or shuttle to Black Rock Lodge. We reserved a car with Avis beforehand, walked across the airport parking lot to the rental cars, and were on our way within 10 minutes. Preplan your route because it’s likely you won’t have service. It’s pretty much a straight shot to San Ignacio.
Black Rock Lodge will make you feel like you’re in another world. Go into it with an open mind knowing you’ll be engulfed by jungle, and you’re in the bugs’ world now. Bugs aside, we highly recommend Black Rock Lodge. Experiencing nature in a somewhat luxurious way, and how we share the earth with wildlife sums up the Black Rock Lodge experience.
Enjoyed reading about your adventures at Black Rock ! I’m sweating just looking at the photos 😓but it sure is beautiful, & breathtaking ! The food looks delicious as well . Thanks for putting so much time and emphasis on all your blogs . The information you provided will be very helpful to travelers !
❤️🤗
I love it all ! But I wish I could hear the monkeys at night and in the morning !
Thank you! Now that you’ll have a passport, you can travel to Belize and hear the howler monkeys!