Honduras Photos
A visit to Honduras is really a visit to three distinct worlds-
- the magical Mayan ruins of Copán, with its unique sculptures,
- the natural world of tropical wetlands, cloud forest and the mysterious Mosquito Coast,
- and the tropical Caribbean, from mangrove swamps and rainforest on the mainland to premier dive spots in the Bay Islands
At Copán, called the Athens of the New World, history is still unfolding. While Tikal has the tall temple pyramids and Palenque its limestone relief panels, Copán is unique in the Maya world for sculpture. Additionally it is among the most accessible Mayan sites in middle America, and offers an impressive museum, opened in 1996, in which you enter through the mouth of a serpent and wind through the entrails of the beast, until you finally emerge into the ruins and sculptures themselves.
Ruinas Copán is one of the most beautiful towns in the whole country and very friendly and visitor oriented. It deserves a few days to explore the town itself in addition to the ruins. A yoga retreat on an old family hacienda is the perfect way to wind down from your busy life. It really is a magical mystery tour!
Honduras is blessed with impressive natural diversity with high peaks in the central highlands tropical could forest, and one of the top eco-hotels in Central America. The north and south coasts are lined with rich wetlands, and the northeast corner is a vast wilderness known as La Mosquitia – the Mosquito Coast. Much of the area is inaccessible but here are some interesting new nature resorts offering creature comforts among the jungle's creatures. Birdwatching in Honduras is excellent and many of thelocal guides are birding on their own home turf. Best times to bird are September through March with January through March drier than the other months.
Just a quick flight or ferry ride from the mainland are the Bay Islands, Utila, Roatan, and Guanaja. The reefs are part of the second-largest barrier reef in the world and teem with fish, coral, sponges, rays, sea turtles and even whale sharks. Islenas are of African, Carib, and European ancestry and English is the dominant language here.
Honduras was once filled with agriculture and still has plantations of coffee, pineapple and bananas. A tour of a modern day coffee finca will interest those who drink it. You will see a mix of old world traditional practices mixed with modern day technology.
Birdwatching is excellent in Honduras with lots of impressive birds – quetzals, macaws, toucans, and lots of parrots. Mixed with a visit to the ruins, birding becomes an almost spiritual quest. Good local guides who know the country like it's their back yard make it easy to find these special birds.
An ideal visit to Honduras includes all three of these aspects.
