THE GREAT BLUE HOLE

The Great Blue Hole is surely the country's most exceptional and famous natural site. Almost 300 m wide and 120 m deep, the Great Blue Hole lies around 70 km from the island of Ambergris Caye and the coast of Belize. Nicknamed "the vertical cave", the Great Blue Hole sits in the middle of the Lighthouse Reef atoll, where a coral island surrounds this mysterious hole in a near-perfect circle. It's the largest formation of its kind in the world, and part of UNESCO's Great Barrier Reef Reserve. Commandant Cousteau made the Great Blue Hole famous by designating it one of the ten most exceptional diving locations on the planet. In fact, he ventured there in 1971 with his ship Calypso, to map its depths. The Great Blue Hole is the result of geological phenomena spanning tens of thousands of years. The hole first formed as a limestone cave over 150,000 years ago, during the Quaternary Ice Age, when sea levels were much lower than today. As ocean levels gradually rose, the cave filled with water and became the distinctive underwater geological structure that makes it one of the world's most astonishing seabed exploration sites. Exploring the cave allows you to discover both the unique geological structure and the many species of fish that thrive there. These include different types of shark (hammerhead, nurse, sandbar, bulldog and reef), blue zawag , giant groupers, angelfish, butterflyfish, sea turtles and many other magnificent and sometimes frightening species. The exceptional nature of this site also makes it a place reserved for those who have already mastered the art of diving. In general, visitors are advised to have completed two more conventional dives with the dive center of their choice before setting out to discover it. If you're a scuba diver, you'll explore the Great Blue Hole by descending into the blue before reaching the impressive stalactites and stalagmites, which sometimes join together to form a large limestone column. For beginners, you can explore the Great Blue Hole and the surrounding coral reef with a mask and snorkel. It's easy to spend a day there and come away amazed. In any case, it's an unforgettable experience!