The Great Blue Hole
One of seven underwater wonders of the world
A Perfect Circle. 300 Metres Deep.
It was formed 15,000 years ago when the sea level rose and flooded a limestone cave system. Jacques Cousteau called it one of the top ten dive sites on Earth in 1971. He was right.
The Blue Hole sits at the center of Lighthouse Reef Atoll, 70 kilometres off the Belizean coast. From above, it looks like a dark eye in the middle of turquoise — a perfect circle 300 metres wide and 125 metres deep.
Inside, stalactites hang from walls formed when this was dry land. Giant grouper patrol the depths. Reef sharks circle the rim. The water is so clear you can see 40 metres in every direction.
Most visitors see it from a plane. A few hundred feet below the surface is another world entirely.
“We leave before sunrise. By the time the dive boats arrive from San Pedro, we've already been there, seen it, and we're heading somewhere quieter. The Blue Hole rewards the early. It always has.”