Nim Li Punit Archaeological Site.  Nim Li Punit means "big hat" in the Kekchi Maya language and refers to the large headdress on a ruler depicted on one of the stela found at the site.  The Nim Li Punit ruins are located off the Southern Highway about 25 miles north of Punta Gorda Town.

Nim Li Punit was occupied by about 5000-7000 people at its peak in the Late Classic Period and was occupied from around 721 to 890 AD.  The people who lived in Nim Li Punit probably migrated to Nim Li Punit from the area that is now Guatemala and were probably aligned with Tikal in Guatemala and Copan in Honduras.  

The site is organized around three plazas and includes an incredibly well-preserved ball court.  Archaeologists also believe that Nim Li Punit includes a Mayan observatory in the Plaza of the Stelae because of the geometric positioning of the structures in this plaza.

Structures at Nim Li Punit were built of sandstone using mortar between stones unlike the mortarless slate construction at Lubaantun.

Nim Li Punit was first investigated by archaeologists in 1976.

Latitude:  16°14'43.19"N/Longitude:   88°46'10.31"W