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The level expanses of northern Belize are a mixture of farmland and rainforest, dotted with swamps, savannahs and lagoons. The largest settlement in the region is Orange Walk, the country's main centre for sugar production. Further north, just 15 minutes from the border with Mexico, Corozal is a small and peaceful Caribbean town, strongly influenced by Maya and mestizo culture. Most of the original settlers in the north were refugees from the Caste Wars in Yucatan, and thus Spanish is more widely spoken than Creole. Most visitors to northern Belize come to see the Maya ruins and wildlife reserves . The largest site, Lamanai , served by regular boat tours along the New River Lagoon , features some of the most impressive pyramids in the country. East of Lamanai, Altun Ha , reached via the old Northern Highway, is usually visited as a part of a day-trip from Belize City or San Pedro. The smaller sites include Cuello , just west of Orange Walk, and Santa Rita and Cerros , both near Corozal. The most northerly of the wildlife reserves is the Shipstern Nature Reserve , close to the village of Sarteneja. Further south, at the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary , a network of rivers and lagoons offers protection to a range of migratory birds, and at the Bermudian Landing Community Baboon Sanctuary a group of farmers have combined agriculture with conservation to the benefit of the black howler monkey. By far the largest and most ambitious conservation project, however, is the Rio Bravo Conservation Area , comprising one thousand square kilometres of tropical forest and river systems in the west of Orange Walk district. Travelling around the north is fairly straightforward if you stick to the main Northern Highway, covered by bus services every hour from 5am to 7pm between Belize City and Chetumal in Mexico, calling at Orange Walk and Corozal on the way.
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