{"id":1868,"date":"2017-11-07T10:41:34","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T16:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitcentroamerica.com\/visitar\/hol-chan-marine-reserve\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T16:24:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T22:24:19","slug":"hol-chan-marine-reserve","status":"publish","type":"pit","link":"https:\/\/www.visitcentroamerica.com\/en\/visit\/hol-chan-marine-reserve\/","title":{"rendered":"Hol Chan Marine Reserve"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hol Chan Marine Reserve<\/strong>\u00a0is located only four miles from the town of San Pedro and some 36 miles from\u00a0Belize City<\/strong>, making it easily accessible as a popular snorkeling and diving site. The shallow waters offer even the novice swimmer a chance to encounter docile nurse sharks and rays.<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Translated in Maya as \u201c\u201dLittle Channel,\u201d\u201d the Hol Chan Marine Reserve refers to the deep cut or \u201cquebrada\u201d in the barrier reef off\u00a0Ambergris Caye<\/strong>. This protected zone encompasses a total of 13,632 acres of marine waters, which includes four zones:<\/p>\n

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  • Zone A<\/strong>: Coral Reef (640 acres)<\/li>\n
  • Zone B<\/strong>: Sea Grass Beds (5,376)<\/li>\n
  • Zone C<\/strong>: Mangroves (6,336)<\/li>\n
  • Zone D<\/strong>: Shark Ray Alley (1,280)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Located approximately four miles south of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, this\u00a0top snorkeling zone<\/strong>\u00a0is Belize\u2019s first marine reserve legislated in July 1987.<\/p>\n

    Hol Chan Cut is open to the sea beyond the reef, so it allows marine creatures to travel from the outside of the reef to the inside and vice versa. Over 160 species of fish have been recorded in the reserve, along with forty types of\u00a0coral<\/strong>, five species of\u00a0sponge<\/strong>, two sea grasses, three species of\u00a0sea turtle<\/strong>\u00a0and three\u00a0marine mammals<\/strong>: the short-beaked common\u00a0dolphin<\/strong>, pantropical spotted dolphin and West Indian manatee. Spotted eagle rays and southern stingrays are common at the bottom of the channel. Lobsters, moray eels and sea anemones live among the rocky outcrops, and some of the many corals include brain coral, elkhorn coral, and finger coral. Jacks, groupers, snappers and barracuda are all common.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

    GEOPOSITION<\/span><\/h2><\/div>