The Hummingbird Highway, stretching from Belmopan to Dangriga, is scenic, and forested at its northern end where you pass through the Maya Mountain foothills with curvy stretches and no-pass zones.
That being the case, give yourself plenty of time to travel it in daylight hours and enjoy the passage. The curves and subtropical forest open out into lush, hilly vistas, with mountain farms along the way raising cacao and offering chocolate making and tasting tours.
Soon you’ll begin to see large orchards which produce oranges from January to May. At the height of the season, be wary of trucks hauling oranges. They sometimes hog those curves. The roadsides may be speckled with oranges fallen off the trucks.
You also may spot coconut palm plantations along the way, although these aren’t as common as the orange orchards.
As you pass the Sibun Forest Preserve, roughly halfway to Hopkins, be sure to watch for the Sleeping Giant, a curvy mountain skyline straight ahead that really does resemble a giant Mayan snoring into the sky.
You’ll spot it about the time a sign for Sleeping Giant Rainforest Lodge appears on the right side of the road. The lodge, by the way, appears to be an upscale resort in case you are interested in breaking your journey. As they note on their webpage, “Casitas feature stylish showers with open-air bathtubs, espresso machine, rooftop electric opening skylights and balconies with hammocks. All rooms are unique and designed with NO TV, to give you an exclusive and refreshing experience of being at one with nature.”
Near the south end of the Hummingbird Highway at Dangriga, there is a Shell gas station where you can get snacks, take a bathroom break, and make yourself a cup of coffee at the little coffee bar inside the station while you gas up. Your turn-off, the Southern Highway is on the right shortly after that. There are some confusing signs, but if you continue south a few miles, the paved Hopkins Road will take off on your left.
You are on the coastal plain now, and both sides of the road will begin to look and smell marshy, with small mangroves dotting the water on their spider-leg stilts. This is a good area for bird watching, so keep an eye out for herons, egrets, and other wading and water birds.
Hopkins is right on the beach at the end of Hopkins Road. In fact, if you kept driving straight, you’d go right out onto the beach and into the water.
There are some nice lounging chairs and picnic tables on the sand there, a nice place to sit and watch the terns, magnificent frigate birds, brown pelicans, and great-tailed grackles as you relax from your drive.
