Altun Ha is located just 31 miles north of Belize City on a two-mile-long dirt road that connects the site to the Old Northern Highway. It covers an area of about five square miles and was once a major ceremonial and trading center. Once home to as many as 10,000 inhabitants over a 1,000-year-long period of occupation dating back as early as 200 BC, it was occupied as recently as the 10th century.
Howler monkeys are found only in the rainforests of the Americas. They are the largest monkey in Latin American rainforests growing as high as up to three feet tall when standing and weighing from eight to twenty-two pounds. They have big necks and lower jaws, where their super-sized vocal cords are housed. They live high in the trees and hang from branches by their tails. To mark their territory, the howlers make loud vocalizations.