Caana (Sky Place), Caracol, Belize

The terraced flank of Caana, the "Sky Place," at Caracol in Belize's Chiquibul Forest. About 43 meters tall, it is still the tallest building in Belize, ancient or modern. Rather than one temple, it is a mountain of platforms carrying palaces, temples and tombs on its summit. Caracol is the Maya city that, with Calakmul's backing, defeated Tikal in 562 CE, and it grew rich and populous in the century that followed.