Shipstern Nature Reserve – Sarteneja, Belize
Shipstern Nature Reserve is located in Sarteneja, a small fishing town in the north-eastern corner of Belize about 30 minutes away by boat from Corozal. It was established as a private Nature Reserve in 1987 and it covers an area of more than 27,000 acres of protected habitats, ranging from saline wetlands and lagoons to Yucatan tropical moist and dry forests.
Shipstern is also home to the Butterfly Breeding Center, which has supplied international destinations like Great Britain, United States, Japan, and Singapore with pupae for their own man-made butterfly habitats.
While they currently breed only 4 kinds of butterflies, when you enter the farm, you will be surrounded by hundreds of butterflies flying all around you. Of the butterflies bred here, my favorite was the Zebra Butterfly (pictured above). It has a beautiful contrast of pale yellow stripes over black that makes it pleasing to watch, especially in such a tropical setting they live in. In addition to butterflies, Shipstern also counts with over 200 species of birds that use the reserve and the Shipstern Lagoon as their protected home. Shipstern is also home to all five cat species of Belize and the endangered Baird’s Tapir, among other animals.
In addition to the Butterfly Farm, the Reserve also has a Visitor’s Centre, a Museum, a Botanical Trail that shows most of Belize’s native plants and trees, and a 65-ft observation tower that offers an impressive view of the whole reserve and lagoon.
This is a good half day trip to do when visiting the towns of Corozal and Sarteneja.
Nice! I haven’t been there, but now I want to go. The first time I saw the butterfly exhibit at the Belize Museum, I was in awe- so many kinds here and so beautiful.
I was surprised by the amount of butterflies that are all around Belize. I didn’t have the chance to go to the Belize Museum, but many other places around the country also have beautiful butterfly collections.
Beautiful photo. I believe the last butterfly farm we visited was in the outskirts of Panajachel, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. It was quite beautiful and an enjoyable experience. we’ll be sure to check out the nature reserve when visiting Belize (likely in the next year).
Thanks Culture-ist! It would be great if you could go to Belize between this year and the next as the country will be even more interesting due to the Maya 2012 celebrations! I do recommend you visit the Shipstern Butterfly Farm as the butterflies there are beautiful!
Visiting sarteneja was a highlight of my belize trip. I overnighted in corozal and took the thunderboat to sarteneja. I stayed at the backpackers paradise in my hammock and ate wonderful food at nanatlies restaurant. I took the shipstern tour with 3 other people and boated out to see nesting woodstorks along with many other bird species. The butterflies at the shipstern center was a bonus and I got lots of nice pictures.
Oh wow! I love that Sarteneja was a highlight for you! I loved Sarteneja too and I believe it is an up and coming destination in Belize, so we can both say we got to experience it in its pristine condition!