The Lenca Trail, is one of the most beautiful tours in Honduras. Is is a 76-mile route spanning from Santa Rosa de Copán to La Esperanza in the western highlands. Throughout this trail you will visit the most charming towns, you will be able to see a many colonial style architecture, churches, historical forts, a Lenca museum and Farmers Markets where the Lenca people sell their vegetables and pottery. Please read our post about the Lenca and their pottery for more information.

Also, the route provides a wonderful scenery with green hills and mountains. On the trail you have the opportunity to visit the National Park “Celaque”, which means “Box of Water” in the lenca language. Celaque is a rain forest where you will find over 230 plant species, 45 species of mammals, and 269 species of birds. The national park is located 9km from downtown Gracias, in the Celaque Mountain. After arriving to the visitor center, the walk in the park is rather pleasant where you will ascend an extra 1,400 to 2,500 meters, where all the flora and fauna typical from a rain forest can be found.

This is an excelent touristic route where you can find living culture, natural scenery, and colonial architecture. Please visit Colosuca for more information about this wonderful trip.

I have posted this great video, that describes some of the most typical handmade crafts in Honduras, and where you can find them. There is a great variety of handmade crafts such as hard-carved wooden boxes, woven chairs, indigenous pottery, jewelry and hammocks in Honduras and each city has its own special selection. This video explores some of the options of where you can find authentic and quality crafts in Honduras.
Valle de Ángeles, a small town located near Tegucigalpa, is known for its leather, carved wooden boxes, weavings and clay roosters. The distinctive pottery made by the indigenous Lenca people is a unique option – one that is only made in Honduras. And Bay Islands, recognized for their handmade jewelry and hammocks.
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Pico Bonito National Park is located near La Ceiba, one of the main cities in Honduras. Pico bonito es the second largest national park, with an extension of 1073 km2. This national park is very beautiful since it is one of the most diverse parks of the county, here you will have the opportunity to observe jaguars, armadillos, wild pigs, tepescuintles, squirrels, monkeys, toucans, white tailed deer, mountain lions, river otters, motmots and many more species. Another highlight of Pico Bonito is that it has areas of lowland dry forest which are scarce in Honduras, making it a great location to observe the more endangered and endemic birds and plants.

This national park is famous for having the highest peak of the country, 2436 meters high. The peak is a challenge to climb and climbing equipment is required in order to reach the top. Usually the hike might take about 10 days. The densely covered lands makes the park hard to access, and visitors usually explore the lower regions of the park near the Zacate and Cangrejal Rivers, where some eco-tourism activities can be done such as white water rafting and canopy tours.

Image via Wikipedia

The National Park has a selection of different habitats, and the rough terrain subsequently means that Pico Bonito is one of the least explored national parks in Honduras, leaving the park in its natural condition with only a handful of trails. The vegetation commences with tropical rainforest and broad leaf forests, which turns into cloud forest the higher you get. Rainforests usually are hot and moist and are perfect habitat for a wide variety of animals. The slopes of Pico Bonito are extremely inclined thus forming numerous waterfalls throughout the park. At daybreak you can view the vast mountain range from La Ceiba and try and comprehend what it is that you are about to explore. The numerous trails can be walked independently. One of the routes, the Zacate River Trail, is approximately 1.5 km long and follows the path of the river Zacate. On route there are several swimming holes along the path.

Copán Ruinas is one of the most visited places in Honduras. It is a calm and beatiful small town where you can enjoy ancient culture and sublime nature nestled in the foothills of western Honduras. For years, Copán has been renowned for its magnificent Maya Ruins, a designated World Heritage Site believed by archeologists to be the cultural center, the Paris, of the Maya world. Copan Ruinas is located 7 miles from the Guatemala border, so it is easy for people that visit Mayan Ruins in Guatemala to come to Copan.

Copan was the governmental and ceremonial center of the Mayan civilization, known for its remarkable series of stelae, which are sculpted rocks, usually representing ancient rulers of Copan. The stelae are located in the central plaza, which is next to the acropolis ( a large complex of overlapping step-pyramids, plazas and palaces).

These are some of the places that you cannot miss if you visit the ruins:

• • Campo de pelota: a court where the Mayans played a ball game, with their elbows, head and knees.
  • Escalinata de los jeroglificos: A huge stairway made of stone, that has the history of the Mayans sculpted in its steps.
  • Templo de Rosalila: a temple constructed in 571 a.d. which was used for religious ceremonies and at present time it is located under one of the pyramids in Copan.

Besides visiting the ruins, you can do a lot of activities. If you want to study spanish in a small town, Copan might be the right place for you, there are a lot of spanish schools in town. Also, you can go horsebackriding, birdwatching, go on Canopy Tours, Take a Hike to Rarely Seen Ruins and Hidden Waterfalls, Go Birdwatching, Soak in a Thermal Hot Springs, Explore Mysterious Caves, Camp in Remote National Parks, Go Kayaking or Tubing on the Copán River, Visit an Aquatic Park, Walk along the Scenic Copán River to the Ruins of Los Sapos, Go Mountain Biking, Visit Beautiful & Historic Colonial Towns in the Mountains, Tour a Coffee Farm, and Bring Home a Sample, and See Local Artisans Practice Their Craft.

Image by Adal-Honduras via Flickr

As you can see, you will never get bored in Copan. Just one final hint, one of the best restaurants to eat in Copan is Restaurante Carnitas N’ia Lola, where you can taste typical Honduran food. They are known for serving large portions of grilled and barbacued meat and vegetarian dishes at reasonable prices. Some of the recommended dishes are: Alambritos (Steak with melted cheese, bacon, onion, sweet pepper, with sides of salsa and pickled veggies) and the Plato Tipico (6 ounces of grilled steak, chicken or pork, sunny side up eggs, refried beans, cheese, rice and pickled veggies). Carnitas N’ia Lola is located 2 blocks south of the city museum.

It is a really nice small and peacfull town in Honduras, don’t miss it.

Image by ESPaul via Flickr