An Unsuspecting Conservation Hotspot in Belize: Gales Point
Gales Point Village likely isn’t a top contender for the average traveler to Belize, though it should be—especially if your travel archetype appeals to naturalists, or anyone seeking immersive experiences, slow travel, and authenticity over anything remotely resembling a tourist trap. Regardless, there’s nothing cookie-cutter about Belize, though wildly preserved spaces like Gales Point prove it. Besides being a living museum of Maroon Creole culture, this quiet and unpretentious destination is also a conservation hotspot just southwest of Belize City.
Surrounding its singular, peninsular dirt road are hazel, nutrient-dense waters animated with scores of waterbirds and fauna, including all three species of Belize’s sea turtles and West Indian manatees. Enormous tarpons, nosy Antillean manatees, howling monkeys, pensive tricolored herons, smiling tapirs, and endangered hawksbill turtles: wildlife abounds in Gales Point “Malanti,” with a stunning backdrop of the Maya Mountains stacked just beyond this narrow spit of the 2.5-mile peninsula.
But this protected area—a wildlife sanctuary—stands at the forefront of climate change, yet visiting can help secure a future inextricably tied to the fate of its biodiverse ecosystems. Gales Point’s natural beauty and personal connections stick with you long after the 23-mile drive from Coastal Road’s cutoff ends, providing everything from sustenance fishing to clean water and UNESCO-recognized intangible cultural heritage.
Drift through the endangered Antillean manatees’ strongholds
Kayak, canoe, or boat your way between the sirenians of Manatee Hole, a freshwater spring-fed nook in Southern Lagoon, which, if continuing east, separates the Caribbean Sea by tangled mangrove forest only. Walk-ins can rent kayaks and canoes from Manatee Lodge at the point of the peninsula to launch directly into Southern Lagoon and wait with bated breath for its namesake native! After all, manatees need air like every other mammal, despite living in water, so keep a keen eye out for their distinctive snouts that break the surface for breaths. And when they do—it’s a big one! Manatees replace approximately 90 percent of the air in their lungs with each breath, and they can hold it for up to 20 minutes at a time.
You might see flippers in between, or paddle-shaped tails breaching, but there’s no need to rush them: manatees are slower, swimming only 3-5 miles per hour. It’s why manatees aren’t a threat to anyone or anything, but are threatened. Always practice passive observation in the wild, whether in a motorized vessel or not, for the ocean’s largest herbivore—they’re not confrontational, and simply too slow (at 14 feet and nearly 2 tons) to move out of harm’s way.
Always look, but don’t touch: besides being unethical to harass, harm, feed, chase, or ride wildlife in Belize, it’s almost entirely illegal. Manatees are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, which means you can be imprisoned if ever in violation of the above. Although each of Gales Point’s ~300 residents doubles as guardians for noticeably safe best practices, like slowly teetering through its waterways, or cutting the engine entirely if any snouts are spotted. Manatees surface every few minutes, no longer than five in between, so a little patience pays off big time!
Tag turtles with Hawksbill of Hope
Remember that mental picture of the lagoon, mangrove forests, beach, and then the Caribbean Sea? It’s here you’ll find one of the highest concentrations of nesting grounds for Hawksbill Sea turtles in Belize. Trudge, teeter, and topple in soft, granite sands tugged together by morning glory plants and shady seagrape shrubs: the choice background for female turtles looking to lay clutches of eggs from April through November. The 21 miles of beach straddling the mouth of the Bar River are incredibly remote—don’t be surprised if you see jaguar prints in the sand!
Non-profit organization Hawksbill Hope has their summers full with students studying abroad, but they are always open to extra hands to lighten the load: just 15 feet from shorebreak, you’ll patrol beaches during nesting season, monitor known clutches, and if you’re lucky, see satellite tags deployed on the backs of nesting females! Or, volunteer with Hawksbill Research Institute for no task too small, from building resilience with community initiatives, leading beach clean-ups, crucial for clearing the paths for turtles to lay, or racing to collect daytime hatchlings to be released at dusk for a fighting chance after predatory frigate birds roost for the night.
Visit the new Marine Rescue and Educational Center
Indeed, Malanti—the Creole translation of manatee—conjures up images of these sea cows, the seemingly clumsy blobs who gracefully float through seagrass beds, mangrove mudflats, and brackish water estuaries of Gales Point. You’ll find these slow-moving teddy bears of the sea anywhere on the cusp between salty and fresh water, animating either side of its central coastal plain, but you’ll soon find them inside the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute’s new Marine Rescue and Educational Center, too!
A haven to rescue and rehabilitate marine wildlife for release, the state-of-the-art facility will welcome far more than just manatees and turtles needing care, starting in December 2025. Beyond tagging and tracking marine fauna, the center underscores the urgency of protecting the places their target species rely on, like seagrass monitoring and mangrove restoration. Visitors—students, tourists, curious Belizeans—can stop in to simply support by learning head-to-tail about wildlife; volunteering by donating time for campaigns; or joining the Adopt-a-Manatee program to proactively safeguard individuals!
Despite Belize boasting the highest known density of Antillean subspecies globally, boat strikes can leave calves orphaned, while habitat degradation adds pressure to an already vulnerable breed. Taking an eco-minded trip to Gales Point means venturing to one of Belize’s untrammeled destinations and lesser-known sights, supporting its community-based efforts of conservation, and seeing wild animals—like the Antillean manatee and Hawksbill turtle—thrive in their wild spaces.
Manatee Photo Credit: johnmromero
