One of the most astonishing wonders of Belize is the world-renowned Blue Hole, the result of an undersea cave which collapsed centuries ago. The Great Blue Hole is located off the coast of Belize near the center of Lighthouse Reef, a small atoll 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the mainland of Belize City.

The marine life in these areas includes nurse sharks, giant groupers, and several types of reef sharks, such as the Caribbean reef shark and the Blacktip shark.

The Blue Hole is nearly a perfect circular hole, 1,000 feet in diameter and 412 feet deep, and it has become the most famous dive site of all Belize – one that avid divers put on “their life list” of places to dive. In fact, it is known as one of the best dive sites in the world and has become a diver’s pilgrimage.

The water cave has sheer walls adorned with stalactites and stalagmites between 120-150 feet deep. If you don’t want to dive, you may also wish to snorkel since the Blue Hole is ringed by coral which also makes it a great spot for shallow dives.

The world’s largest natural formation of its kind, the Great Blue Hole is part of the larger Barrier Reef Reserve System, a World Heritage Site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

You can pack some lunch and drinks for an all-day adventure and head for this extraordinary site, which is teeming with marine life and visible from outer space. Dive excursions to the Great Blue Hole are full-day trips that usually consist of one dive in the Blue Hole and two additional dives in nearby reefs.