Orange Walk - History

The second of the northern districts, Orange Walk lies next to both Mexico and Guatemala; although it does not have an official border crossing into either. South is the district of Cayo. East is Belize. The terrain in Orange Walk is more of a forest savannah. A lot of its land, though, has been developed for the production of sugar cane similar to that of Corozal.

The Orange Walk district, is home to the only operational sugar refinery in Belize. The Tower Hill factory processes the sugar cane, which is produced in Orange Walk as well as in neighbouring Corozal.

Although Orange Walk is mostly Spanish speaking, it is home to a number of Mennonite villages such as Blue Creek and Shipyard. The Spanish speaking residents are decedents of the same Maya and Mestizo in the Corozal district.

Orange Walk caters for more outdoor activities. A large portion of Orange Walk's rain forest is protected reserve under the Rio Bravo Conservation Project. Orange Walk also has several Maya ruins including La Milpa and Lamanai.