Toledo District

Toledo District
District
Punta Gorda is the main town in the Toledo District.
Location of the district in Belize
Country	Belize
Capital	Punta Gorda
Area
• Total	4,649 km2 (1,795 sq mi)
Population (2010)
• Total	30,538
• Density	6.6/km2 (17/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	BZ-TOL
Website	southernbelize.com

Toledo District is the southernmost district in Belize, and Punta Gorda the District capital. It is the least developed region in the country, and it features some of the most pristine rainforests, extensive cave networks, coastal lowland plains, and offshore cays. Toledo is home to a wide range of cultures—from Mopan and Kekchi Maya, to Creole, the Garifuna, East Indians, Mennonites, Mestizos, and descendants of US Confederate settlers.

The District has many villages, including Monkey River Town and the Toledo Settlement, the Maya villages of San Pedro Columbia, Blue Creek, Indian Creek, Santa Cruz, San Antonio, San Jose, San Felipe, and the Garifuna village of Barranco. It also has a number of Maya ruins, including Lubaantun, Nim Li Punit, Uxbenka, and Pusilha. According to the 2010 census, Toledo District had a population of 30,538 people.

The economy of Toledo relies heavily upon agriculture: crops grown include beans and corn, as well as rice which is sold to the Big Falls Rice Mill. Cacao is grown organically and sold via the Toledo Cacao Growers Association to Green & Black’s for their renowned Maya Gold chocolate, as well as to chocolatiers within Belize. The District’s ancient and modern-day links with chocolate are celebrated annually in May (Commonwealth Day Holiday weekend) at the Toledo Cacao Festival. Farmers grow additional crops such as coffee, yams, sweet potato, chili, hot peppers, avocado, oranges and plantain for sale at the market in Punta Gorda, held each Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.