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Belize's spectacular Barrier Reef , with its dazzling variety of underwater life and string of exquisite islands - known as cayes - is the main attraction for most first-time visitors to the country. Forming part of the longest barrier reef in the western hemisphere, it runs the entire length of the coastline at a distance of 15 to 40km from the mainland. Most of the cayes (pronounced "keys") lie in shallow water behind the shelter of the reef. A limestone ridge forms larger, low-lying islands to the north, while smaller, less frequently visited outcrops are clustered toward the southern end of the chain - often these are no more than a stand of palms and a strip of sand. Though the 450 cayes themselves form only a tiny proportion of the country's total land area, and only around three dozen have any kind of tourism development, Belize has more territorial water than it does land, and the islands' tourism and lobster fishing accounts for a substantial amount of foreign currency earnings. The town of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye has been transformed from a predominantly fishing community to one geared to commercial tourism. There are still some beautiful spots here, however, notably the protected sections of reef at either end of the caye: the Bacalar Chico National Park to the north and Hol Chan Marine Reserve to the south. South of Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker is less - but increasingly - developed, and remains popular with budget travellers. Beyond the chain of islands and the coral reef are two of Belize's three atolls , the Turneffe Islands and Lighthouse Reef , regularly visited on day-trips from San Pedro and Caye Caulker. Here the coral reaches the surface, enclosing a shallow lagoon, with some cayes lying right on top of the encircling reef. Lighthouse Reef encompasses two of the most spectacular diving and snorkelling sites in the country - Half Moon Caye Natural Monument and the Great Blue Hole , an enormous collapsed cave.
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