Salt places to visit · Toledo District, southern Belize
Paynes Creek: the Maya underwater salt works
Maya salt kitchens and homes preserved under the sea floor, where workers boiled brine and salted fish for inland cities.
At a glance
| Where | Paynes Creek National Park, Toledo District, southern Belize |
|---|---|
| Type of place | National park and underwater archaeology |
| What was found | Submerged pole-and-thatch salt kitchens, at least one home, an area for salting and drying fish, and the first intact wooden Maya paddle ever found. |
| How salt was made | Workers boiled brine in pots over fires. About ten salt kitchens worked at the same time. |
| When | Roughly AD 300 to 900, ending around the time the inland Maya cities were abandoned. |
| Visiting | The salt works are underwater archaeological sites inside a national park created in 1994; there is nothing to see on the surface. |
The salt story
Archaeologists led by Heather McKillop of Louisiana State University have mapped the site, called Ek Way Nal, for years. They describe “surplus household production of salt that was well integrated in the regional economy”: salt and salted fish went to inland markets in exchange for goods from elsewhere. Salt appears as a trade good in Maya murals at Calakmul.
Hours, seasons and prices change. Check with the site before you travel.
More salt places
Cite this page
For school projects and reports. Teachers often prefer the original sources too: see the list below.
The Salt Almanac. (2026, November 8). Paynes creek: The maya underwater salt works. https://saltalmanac.com/places/paynes-creek-belize
“Paynes Creek: the Maya underwater salt works | Salt Places to Visit.” The Salt Almanac, 8 Nov. 2026, saltalmanac.com/places/paynes-creek-belize. Accessed [today's date].
“Paynes Creek: the Maya underwater salt works | Salt Places to Visit.” The Salt Almanac. Last modified November 8, 2026. https://saltalmanac.com/places/paynes-creek-belize.
Original sources
- HeritageDaily. Archaeologists discover submerged dwellings of Maya salt workers (2021). https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/11/archaeologists-discover-submerged-dwellings-of-maya-salt-workers/142050
- Wikipedia. Payne's Creek National Park. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paynes_Creek_National_Park