We flew into Honduras and took a bus to the region of Copan where we saw the Maya ruins, Macaws, and an incredible hot springs spa.
After 3 flights we finally landed in San Pedro Sula, the second largest city in Honduras. Half an hour in a taxi ($15) got us to the main bus station where we boarded our bus to Copan Ruinas with Casasola for 140 limperas each ($6).
The drive was beautiful with deep green hills surrounding us. Sadly, trash covered the ditches and riverbanks surrounding the roads. This dramatically improved about a half hour outside of the city, but still trash was a problem everywhere. Onboard, two employees ran the bus: the driver and the guy that stood at the open door as we zoomed down the road. Whenever he saw people, he would yell out to them to see if they wanted a ride… and sometimes they did. The only limit for passengers is how tightly you can pack together with people on laps and standing in the aisles. Often vendors piled on with their sodas, fruit, and snacks of all sorts to sell to us… we drove on with them on board and often they jumped off as the bus was in motion. 5 hours later (with no bathroom breaks) we finally arrived in the small, quiet town of Copan Ruinas ready for some food and sleep.
Copan Ruins
After some breakfast we took a tuk tuk to the Maya ruins of Copan. We chose to purchase a tour of the main ruins from one of the trained guides lined up outside the entrance. Entry to Copan was $15, visiting the tunnels an additional $15, and we paid about $20 for the guide.
Walking towards the ruins, we came upon a group of macaws, a turkey, and an agouti.
Our guide explained which kings the sculptures depicted and what some various symbols on them meant. Much of what we saw in the main plaza is from the 13th ruler of Copan, Uaxaclajuun Ub’aah K’awiil (also known as “Eighteen Rabbit”) The guide pointed out the altars where sacrifices were performed and informed us that the Maya performed human sacrifice about 3 times a year.
Below is the game field for the Maya of Copan constructed during the time of Eighteen Rabbit’s rule. It was a game with 5 players per team and a ball. When you hit one of the macaws, that’s a point. The macaws are the 3 heads sticking up on each side. Sometimes the VIP of the game would be sacrificed (this was considered an honor).
Another highlight is the staircase which has the history of all the kings of Copan depicted in the stones of the steps. It’s currently covered by a tarp to protect the site but to the detriment of my picture.
One plaza is dedicated to the underworld and is shown by the characters carved into the stones. There is a sculpture of a panther dancing and of the sun god.
Copan has multiple layers since the kings would choose to cover up the temples and courts of the past kings and build on top of them. When you walk through the underground tunnels you can see some sculptures and carvings from buried older ruins. There’s one door which takes you to see just two windows of buried ruins so don’t miss the cellar-like entrance to explore a longer path.
Macaw Mountain
Next we grabbed food and visited Macaw Mountain. This is a sanctuary for many types of parrots and breeding program for macaws. Their intention is to increase the population of free macaws in the area. Shorty after arriving it began to rain so pictures were difficult.
Towards the end of the path is an interaction area where you can hold macaws. The birds here were pets and are therefore unable to ever live on their own.
Town of Copan Ruinas
The museum (Museo de Arqueologia Maya) in Copan is right next to the Central Park and houses artifacts from Copan. There are a couple skulls on display that show teeth embedded with jade as decoration. These were high class people.
We wandered around the cobblestone streets of town for a while and finally chose Carnitas Nia Lola restuarant for dinner. The wait staff carry out your drinks and food on their heads. The food is cooked in the open over coals that are stoked by pump driven oxygen.
Sepulturas Ruins
We started our second day by visiting the Sepulturas Ruins. (Entrance is included in the Copanticket.) We only saw a couple other people while walking the trail and around the ruins. It was very peaceful.
Luna Jaguar Spa
We traveled by tuk tuk one hour to the Luna Jaguar Spa / hot springs. This was definitely the best hot springs I’ve ever seen. We spent 3 1/2 hours just transitioning from one pool to the next. The natural hot spring water drops from a waterfall at the top and travels down as a river. The hot water mixes with cooler water in stone pools all along the cascade. There are also a couple cold pools mixed in.
The top pool was my favorite as you could see the waterfall and lots of rising steam just beyond you.
Mud was available at one pool to smear all over your face and body and let dry before washing away.
Towards the bottom, the pool we thought was going to be the boring one surprised us. It has an opening on the wall that led to an enclosed grotto.
As you enter and exit the hot springs area you cross a bridge over a river with a small waterfall of hot water falling into it. If you walk into the river, towards the waterfall, you can feel the fluctuations in water temperature.
That was it for the Copan region of Honduras. Next off to Lake Yojoa!
Beautiful place!
Glad everything went so well in your trip.
Waiting for report on your next adventure.