Dangriga

Dangriga sits at the mouth of the North Stann Creek River on Belize's central coast and is widely called the country's cultural capital, the largest town of the Garifuna people. Their ancestors arrived here by dugout canoe on 19 November 1802, an event the whole town relives every year with an all-night reenactment, drumming and the Garifuna Settlement Day parade. The Gulisi Garifuna Museum traces that history and the language, food and punta music that grew from it, and the Drums of Our Fathers Monument marks the town's entrance with three carved dügü drums. Fishing boats still work out of Dangriga each morning, and the town is the usual departure point for the reef island of Tobacco Caye, a half hour offshore.