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The last stretch of the Hummingbird Highway is flat and relatively
uninteresting; from the junction with the Southern Highway to
Punta Gorda, it's another 10km further to DANGRIGA, the
district capital (formerly known as Stann Creek) and the largest
town in southern Belize. Though Dangriga is the cultural centre of
the Garífuna, a people of mixed indigenous Caribbean and
African descent, who overall make up about eleven percent of the
country's population, it is not the most exciting of places unless
you're here during a festival. However, the town is home to some of
the country's most popular artists, including painters, drum-makers,
the Waribagabaga Dancers and the Turtle Shell Band, and you may
catch an exhibition or performance. It's also a useful base for
visiting the offshore cayes and the inland jaguar reserve nearby.
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 Belize
travel guide
Caribbean
guide
Since the early 1980s Garífuna culture has undergone something of a
revival, as part of which the town was renamed Dangriga, a Garífuna
word meaning "standing waters". The most important day in the
Garífuna calendar is November 19, Garífuna Settlement Day ,
when the arrival from Roatán is re-enacted with a landing on the
beach in dugout canoes, and expatriate Belizeans return en masse to
the town to celebrate wildly with music, drumming, dance and drink.
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Belize
Belize City
Where to go
When to go
Getting around
Costs, money, banks
Currency, exchange
 Eating
and drinking
Mail &
communications
Safety and the police
Work and study
Information
The media
Holidays
and festivals
Shopping,
souvenirs
Belize city
Arrival and information
Restaurants
Nightlife,
entertainment
Tours,
buses
Listings
Travel details
Explore Belize City
North side
South side
Cayo and the west
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Belize city
to San
Ignacio
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Belize zoo
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Belmopan
Practicalities
Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
Guanacaste
Park
Benque Viejo del Carmen
Caracol Ruins
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve
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San Antonio
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San Ignacio
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Arrival
Restaurants
Kayaking,canoeing
Xunantunich, San Jose
Corozal, Orange Walk
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Travel details |
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