Copan

Copán is located at the western end of the country. It has 23 municipalities and 336 villages, the most important municipalities are Santa Rosa de Copán (main department) and the Ruinas de Copán, preferred as a tourist destination. It was founded May 28, 1869 and it extension is 3.242 Km2. The main economic activities are agriculture and cattle, although it also has crafts factories. Its territory welcomes the National Park Blue Hill and the Ruinas de Copán, place of archaeological interest and main Honduran center of the Mayan culture. Due to this, it has been able to foment the tourist development in the zone, having nowadays an extensive variety of stores, restaurants, bars, discotheques and hotels, in addition to a variety of entertainment options. Santa Rosa is the biggest and most important city of the Western part of Honduras. It is the main department of Copán. It is a city of beautiful colonial architecture, that has an infrastructure of excellent services. Visitors will find different possibilities for entertainment, such as guided visits to historical centers, including the factory of cigarettes La Flor de Copán., where people continues the traditional manufacture of the handmade cigarette. There are other ideal sites for lovers of nature; they can either make long walks, excursions by horse, mountain cycling and visits to spa and recreational centers, among them the Natural Park La Montañita, visit to the tourist spa Las Tres Jotas, excursions to the national parks Celaque or Huisayote, as well as one-day visits to the Mayan Ruins of Copán or to the Archaeological Park El Puente, distant from one to two hours. Las Ruinas de Copán is a municipality pertaining to the same Department, located to 1 km from the ruins of the old Mayan city, at present became in Archaeological Park, that has other tourist attractions like the typical small houses with roofing tiles, the stony streets, their trees and other details that turn it in a colorful place to visit. The cultural monument "Archaeological Park of Copán", is one of the most important exponents of the classic period of the Mayan civilization, one of the greater pre-Columbian cultures of America. This was declared by UNESCO Patrimony of the Humanity in 1980, besides constituting the most important and representative tourist destination of Honduras. The architecture, sculpture and minor arts contain a history of more than 400 years. Here you can visit the Museum of Mayan Sculpture or the Museum of Archaeology of Las Ruinas de Copán.