The town has a population of around 5,000 people that are predominantly Mestizo, that is, people of Maya and Spanish ancestry.

The immediate area was once inhabited by native Chan Maya, descendants of those people that once inhabited the hidden cities of Xunantunich, Caracol and Tikal.  The Chan Maya maintained close contact with the Peten Itza Maya, the last Mayan people to be conquered by the Spanish in 1697.

The area of Benque Viejo became a logging camp in the 18th Century due to its strategic location along the Mopan River.  Around 1850, it was settled by refugees from Yucatan (Mexico) and Peten (Guatemala).

These 18th Century refugees brought a system of values, practices, beliefs and folklore that evolved into a cultural tapestry within the framework of British colonialism.

Despite the wave of modernism and change, Benque Viejo del Carmen has kept its mystic and tranquil spirit tinted with the friendliness of its people, and the practices and beliefs of old.  Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church still comes alive with the novena prayers and the marimba, the local instrument of music, for the festivities of the patron saint on the 16th of July.

Among the areas of interest that are quite accessible from Benque Viejo are:  Tikal (around 70 miles across the Guatemalan border), Xunantunich (1 mile off on the Western Highway),  Poustinia (3 miles of on the road to the village of Arenal), San Ignacio Town (8 miles off on the Western Highway), and the Mayan ruins of Caracol.