Name: Chaya Maya Jungle Lodge
Address: Young Gal Road, Cayo District (Near Belmopan, Spanish Lookout, Belize River), Teakettle, Belize, Belmopan, Belmopan, Belmopan, 00011, Belize
Rating: 9

Smoke-free property

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Private check-in/check-out

Patio

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Non-smoking rooms

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Bathtub

Shower

Linens

Mosquito net

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Diet menu (on request)

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Meals

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Internet

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Transfer

Hiking

Fishing

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Parking

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Pool and beach

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Hector Silva Airport

Matthew Spain Airport

Chaya Maya Jungle Lodge

Belmopan

Our family had a great time at the Chaya Maya Jungle Eco lodge.  The staff were superb and friendly and ever so helpful.  The location is quite interesting with a wide variety of Belize wildlife and we saw many more animals than we were able to snap a picture of.  Howling Monkeys and various Iguanas made up most of the sightings but also a screen owl, several Toucan’s, a crocodile, spider monkeys, many birds, were among some of the animals we saw.

When we arrived in Belize we were met by the transfer arranged by Chaya Maya who had been assigned to us for the entire trip.   He was great and super knowledgable about the entire Cayo district.  He arranged the tours we did and those went very well — the day long trip to Tikal Guatemala, cave tubing, zip lining, etc.   We did visit the Belize Zoo on our way to Chaya Maya which I recommend — it gave us good views of the different wildlife we might see so we knew a bit more about what to watch for.  

 We had the 4 night, 3-day package and spent one day on a 2 hour tour through the jungle around Chaya Maya run by local staff who explained multiple trees, how some are poison and the ones next to them are the antidote.  Hands-on examples of how the different barks work, how roofs are made out of palms, jungle candy, water vines, etc.  Our family found it all totally fascinating.  Even an example of cocoa and to suck off the inside white pulp off of the cocoa beans which is faintly sweet.

Chaya Maya itself is somewhat primitive — there are only three cabanas there and our family had all three for the 6 of us. Portable cots are available to get a few more folks into the cabana’s so a family size of 6-9 could likely be accomodated. If you are used to Yurt camping in the pacific northwest, the cabana’s were multiple steps above those.  The weather for our visit was a bit rainier and colder than is typical — down to 54 F one night although warming up quickly to mid 70’s once the sun came out.  But one does get a bit dirty there and the unheated rain showers encouraged very quick washing. :-)

The staff were wonderful — Marta cooked all our meals, Belizian meals,  which were all fantastic.  Lots of beans, rice, tortilla’s and then different types of meat such as chicken.  Wonderful tender poofy fry jacks and Johnny cakes, beef and chicken empanadas, etc.  There was also bacon, pork chops, and lots of eggs and cheese.  She even made a good cup of coffee.  She greeted us upon arrival with fresh lime juice which was also available at meals along with  fresh coconut water and soursap juice.    We felt so well taken care of!  

In addition to Marta, there are multiple staff including the site manager Byron — all of them were very helpful and worked hard to not let us accidentally injure ourselves. :-)  

Potable water was available at the main lodge area — we each had two water bottles and would take them up where Marta would fill them whenever needed.

The staff has been working years to make Chaya Maya more and more self-sustaining.  Lots of local variety of fruits grown there.  And there is a large multi-terraced garden area that came with the place that could have been initially created by Mayan’s or descendants of Mayans as it matched how they farmed.

As a note, we did have some limited cell coverage at the main dining lodge/patio and could send texts to family.

As we had all three cabana’s, we essentially had the whole place to ourselves which was pretty nice.    We could wander around the jungle trails, watch the howling monkeys, sit up at lodge eating and playing games, etc.   Beer and rum punch were available but should be requested before arrival — it is a bit of a haul for the staff to get supplies and they try to have everything there that is needed upon arrival.

The final leg to get to Chaya Maya requires a short boat ride on the Belize river.  The boat is large enough for three plus the two staff and it took 3 total trips to get all 6 of us and our luggage.  We actually had a fair amount of luggage due to heading to the beach region for snorkeling after Chaya Maya and bringing all our snorkel gear, etc.  The luggage didn’t phase the staff at all — pretty impressive to see them hauling two 50 pound suitcases, one on each shoulder,  up the short hill needed to get to the lodge area.  Maybe not the best location for someone with mobility challenges but I was fine even with a fair amount of arthritis in my knees.

Although we enjoyed the beach and snorkeling with sharks, on the second half of our trip, the time in the jungle at Chaya Maya was by far our favorite portion of our trip, along with the local tours.

Would do again -- great experience and well taken care of!

We had an absolutely incredible experience at Chaya maya. The jungle lodge is only accessible via river crossing and the staff makes a point to operate the grounds without disturbing the natural beauty of the jungle. If you are looking for an authentic jungle experience, this is the place to go. 

Activities: the lodge coordinates day activities such as caving, tubing, ruin tours, etc to meet the adventure level of all travelers. Definitely check out Crystal caves.

Food: the food is the best food we had in all of Belize. You are treated to the home cooking of Martz and she does not disappoint using plants and fruits she finds in the jungle in the meals she prepares. She also paired the traditional belizian food with exotic fresh squeezed juices from fruit grown right on the property. You must try her soursop and tambran juices! 

Accommodations: we stayed in some awesome jungle cabanas with palm roofs and beautiful stone showers with water coming straight from the natural mountain spring. You have solar power provided to charge phones and cameras. 

Staff: Martz and Dustin made every effort to be more than just staff, but to treat us like family. They ate meals with us, taught us countless things about the jungle, shared stories, and catered the trip to our liking. Hats off to the hardest working people I have ever met. These two make the chayamaya lodge what it is and you don’t want to miss it.

Overall surpassed expectations. Would recommend to anyone coming to the Belizian jungle

Authentic jungle experience for adventure seekers

Chaya Maya was a perfect place to experience the jungle. The grounds were beautiful and it was great to begin and end every excursion with a trip down the river. There are tons of activities nearby and lots to explore on the property itself. We especially enjoyed the cave combo and Tikal trips we booked and are excited to try several others the next time we visit. 

We could not have possibly asked for a better host than Dustin. He was a lot of fun to talk with, very knowledgeable about the local plants, animals, and customs, and always happy to help in any way. It was a real pleasure to get to know him and Marta (who's cooking alone is worth staying there) and we will definitely return the next time that we find ourselves in the Cayo district if they are still there.

Amazing jungle experience

We had a great stay at Chaya Maya. Its two big strengths are the wildlife/scenery/jungle and the staff. The staff are the cheerful-est and kindest people, and they worked their tails off keeping us comfortable and happy. The food (traditional Belezean) was excellent--we loved the home-made tortillas. A family of howler monkeys (at least when we were there) lives in the tree by the river--we saw and heard them every day. I love the sound of the "howling!" (Though really it sounds more like lions roaring.) If you are into bird watching, there is plenty for you here. With the amazing guide Dustin's help, I spotted dozens of birds--including toucans, parrots of several types, and many other interesting and colorful birds--on the property or nearby on the river. Dustin seems to be able to see birds in far off treetops better than I can see with binoculars. It was nice to just sit on the patio or down by the river and see what flies by.
Trips across the river always seemed to involve seeing some interesting wildlife or birds--monkeys, giant dinosaur-like iguanas, crocodiles, and bats, and often toucans. On our last afternoon their, Dustin and Aidan treated us to a canoe trip up the river--beautiful! We even got a bonus rainbow. The river is quiet, lovely, and teaming with wildlife.

This is a small place. This is both good and bad! For the first three days we were the only people there, and we really enjoyed the quiet. When other people arrived it became noisier (one group was a family with a baby and two toddlers) and then there isn't much privacy. This is partially why I gave it only 4 stars, though in many ways I really loved staying here best out of all the places we stayed in Belize. The huts are very close together, and with only screens between them, you might as well all be in the same room. I thought the huts needed a little updating--the cracked and crumbling concrete floors were unpleasant. The bed was comfortable though, and I got used to the cold shower--best in the hottest part of the afternoon! I loved the open air showers--there are walls but no ceiling so you can enjoy views of trees and clouds while you shower. We also found that it was fun to just stick our head out there at night and see the stars.
Really the whole place has a bit of a Gilligan's Island vibe, which was a lot of fun. Geckos chirp at you while you eat dinner, and you might hear monkeys at any time. 
I was a little disappointed when I first arrived, because it didn't seem like there was that much there. There's no restaurant (you will be well fed though) like a lot of lodges have, and no bar--you have to bring your own drinks. The website says there's a bar, and hammocks, but really there's neither. You can't swim in the river, at least not when I was there. You can use the canoes, but the river was running pretty fast when we were there so we didn't do that. I noticed when other people arrived they seemed surprised just like we were. Where's the lodge, the menu, the tropical drinks? You don't get that at Chaya Maya.
But then--you also don't get partying drunks and noisy crowds. You do get lots of jungle and all that comes with it. You get beautiful sunsets, a relaxed dinner of delicious Belizean food, comfy lounging chairs, colorful birds flying by, possibly a surprise visit from a fox or a night walker. I hope to get back here sometime.



Jungle adventure!

We didn't expect this to be the best part of our trip; surprise! We booked Chaya Maya hoping for a real jungle experience for our teenagers, and boy did we get it. Starting with the great jungle Suburban ride through the mud, the steep hikes to and from the river, the canoe rides, and the simple lodge itself, we loved it all. My teenagers actually got teary when it was time to leave after only 3 days. Dustin was a fantastic host with his friendliness and dedication to making you feel like family. Martha had our mouths watering the whole time, and we couldn't get enough of the fresh fruit, coconuts, and juices they would come out of the jungle with. They worked hard to get us to our excursions and back and we never had to wait for them or the tour company. The property tour and hikes around, day and night, were definitely highlights. Canoeing the river was the best way for us to see the amazing Howler Monkey families, the proboscis bats at the base of the trees, the Jesus Christ lizards, the bamboo chickens, the Toucans, all the parrots, the iquanas, turtles, and lots more.
When we arrived, we were greeted by the Chaya Maya Howler Monkey family in the tree right over us, and were told that our daughter (12) had the honor of naming the baby that had just started leaving her mother's (Maya) back. We chose Ceiba, the name of a huge local tree that the Maya considered the "tree of life". Listening to the nighttime howls from the male (Kong) and the other nearby families was so ethereal.
It's no joke that the jungle is not for everyone, but if you open your mind and let the jungle consume you, it'll let you back out with the memories of a lifetime.

Real Jungle + Personal Service

Arrival by boat... we had two of the three cabanas. The kids learned to play cards because there is no WiFi.
The staff, including the cook were wonderful.  This is not for everyone.
Cold shower (great in the jungle).
Composting toilets (sawdust).
Muddy hillside walkways... but we loved it.  The howler monkeys screamed each day. Amazing sound. We left on a tour of the ruins one day and the inland blue hole national park another, both with our guide Marvin with Upside Down Tours... highly recommend worth very penny...  Byron and Dustin were great about everything at Chaya Maya J R  take the kids get back to nature.

Chaya Maya Jungle Lodge

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