Honduras has had a rocky historical past and it’s a spot the place, in sure components, travellers nonetheless must err on the facet of warning.
That doesn’t imply the nation is off-limits although. The truth is, performed the suitable approach, there are some unbelievable experiences awaiting you in Honduras. Simply use similar warning you’d when touring Mexico, for instance, and prepare to expertise the wealthy tradition and exquisite landscapes of this Central American nation.
1. Honduras was one facet in a ‘Soccer Struggle’
In 1969, after a sequence of contested World Cup soccer matches, El Salvador and Honduras started what is named the ‘Soccer Struggle’.
These passionately attended worldwide soccer video games are thought to have been the ultimate straw in an already strained relationship between the 2 nations, resulting in a four-day, 100-hour battle. Nonetheless, the financial hardships, border disputes and different political points between El Salvador and Honduras have been actually accountable.
2. It’s residence to ruins from what is taken into account a very powerful Maya metropolis
The Copán Ruins, or the Maya Website of Copan, is a UNESCO World Heritage Website containing unbelievable works from the Maya civilisation. This location is taken into account probably the most essential websites of this civilisation and would have functioned as a centre of political, non secular and civil significance.
Thought-about probably the most densely populated city areas of the Maya world between AD 426 and 820, the Copán Ruins in the present day nonetheless show over 1,250 particular person glyphs.
3. What does Honduras imply?
Honduras means “depths” in Spanish. Christopher Columbus was stated to have named it after the deep water discovered off the coast of Honduras.
4. The second largest coral reef on this planet is discovered right here
The Mesoamerican Reef, or MAR, is the second largest coral reef on this planet after the Nice Barrier Reef and spans throughout the coastlines of Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and Belize.
Discovered within the Caribbean Sea, this reef is sort of 700 miles lengthy and is residence to every little thing from turtles, manatees, whale sharks and over 500 species of fish.
5. Honduras has a twin capital
The capital of Honduras used to alternate between the 2 cities of Comayaguela and Tegucigalpa up till 1938, once they have been technically mixed into one.
These cities was once rivals, however when Tegucigalpa was formally established as a seat of presidency, Comayaguela was made a neighbourhood of Tegucigalpa.
6. Ever puzzled why Honduras was known as a banana republic?
The American author O. Henry first used this time period within the early twentieth century to explain the nation’s overreliance on banana exports and unstable financial system. Nonetheless, this time period was additionally utilized to different nations in Central America, whose best export and financial asset was bananas.
7. Smoke-free zones
Honduras was the primary nation to ban smoking in your individual residence. People who smoke should at all times stand about two metres (six ft) away from non-smokers.
8. The buses critically stand out
Native buses are referred to as Hen buses. They’re brightly painted and seem like a celebration on wheels. Nonetheless, you’re unlikely to see chickens on these buses.
9. It’s residence to one of many oldest clocks on this planet
The clock was constructed round 1100 AD by the Moors and was initially positioned within the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. It’s travelled an extended strategy to sit within the Cathedral of Comayagua.
10. They’ve some superb fowl life
The nationwide fowl of Honduras is the brightly colored Scarlet Macaw. However whereas that’s a powerful species, the nation can also be residence to different bird-watcher favourites, together with the Fulvous Owl, the Wine throated Hummingbird, the American Pygmy Kingfisher, the Olive-throated Parakeet and the Keel-billed Toucan.
The truth is, there are such a lot of unbelievable animal species in Honduras that many preserved organic reserves and nationwide parks have been based to guard all of them. One among these areas is the Mount Azul de Copan Nationwide Park discovered across the ruins of Copán.
Discover Honduras on our Central America journeys
Characteristic picture by Steve Mortimer
