Honduras

Copán, in a green valley near the Guatemalan border, was ruled by a dynasty of sixteen kings from AD 426, when K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' founded it, until the early 9th century. It was smaller than Tikal but is famous for the quality of its sculpture.

Its stelae, carved almost in the round, show rulers such as Waxaklajuun Ub'aah K'awiil, known as 18-Rabbit, who was captured and beheaded by the neighbouring city of Quiriguá in 738. The Hieroglyphic Stairway, with more than 2,000 glyphs, is the longest known Maya text.

Archaeologists tunnelled into the acropolis and found earlier temples buried inside later ones, including the brightly painted Rosalila temple, whose full-size replica stands in the site museum.

Copán was declining by the 9th century as the valley was deforested and overpopulated. Ch'orti' Maya people still live in the region, and the town of Copán Ruinas grew up next to the site.

After independence from Spain in 1821 and the break-up of the Central American federation led by Honduran-born Francisco Morazán, Honduras was poor, divided and often at war with its neighbours.

From the 1890s US fruit companies — Standard Fruit, Cuyamel and United Fruit — gained huge land concessions on the north coast in exchange for railways. They built La Ceiba, Tela and San Pedro Sula's economy, and their influence over governments inspired O. Henry's phrase 'banana republic'.

Military rule dominated much of the 20th century. In the 1980s Honduras was a base for US-backed Contra rebels fighting Nicaragua's government. In 1998 Hurricane Mitch killed about 7,000 people and destroyed much of the country's infrastructure.

In 2009 the army removed President Manuel Zelaya in a coup. His wife, Xiomara Castro, became the first woman president in 2022; in the tight 2025 election Nasry Asfura of the National Party won and took office in January 2026.

Most of Honduras's roughly 10 million people are mestizo, but the country officially recognises nine Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples. The Lenca of the western highlands are the largest Indigenous group; their hero Lempira, who resisted the Spanish in the 1530s, gave his name to the currency.

The Garífuna, descended from Carib, Arawak and West African people, were deported by the British from St Vincent to Roatán in 1797 and spread along the Caribbean coast. Their villages near Tela and Trujillo keep the language, punta music and cassava bread alive, while facing pressure over land and tourism.

The Bay Islands were settled by English-speaking Afro-Caribbean and white Cayman Islanders in the 19th century, and Britain only handed them to Honduras in 1860. Many islanders still speak English at home, and Spanish arrived with mainland migrants.

In La Mosquitia, Miskito, Pech and Tawahka communities live in a vast roadless area. The murder of Lenca environmental activist Berta Cáceres in 2016 drew world attention to conflicts over dams and land.

The baleada, a thick flour tortilla folded over refried beans, cream and hard cheese, began as cheap food for north-coast workers and became the national snack. Stands sell them from morning to midnight.

Mainland plates centre on grilled beef, beans, plantains, rice, fresh cheese and cream. Pollo con tajadas, fried chicken on crisp green-plantain chips, is the fast food of San Pedro Sula.

On the coast and islands coconut rules: sopa de caracol (conch soup in coconut milk) is so identified with Honduras that a 1990s hit song was named after it. Garífuna cooks make tapado, machuca and pan de coco.

Honduras is Central America's largest coffee producer, with highland farms around Copán, Marcala and Santa Bárbara, and a growing speciality coffee scene.

Roatán, Utila and Guanaja sit on the southern end of the Mesoamerican Reef. Walls drop into deep water close to shore, so good diving and snorkelling often start straight off the beach at West End and West Bay.

Utila built its fame as one of the cheapest places in the world to learn to dive, and whale sharks feed off its north shore at certain times of year. Guanaja, hit hard by Hurricane Mitch, is the quietest of the three.

Roatán Marine Park, set up by local residents and dive operators, funds patrols and moorings through visitor fees. Cruise ships dock at two ports on Roatán, and busy days change the feel of West Bay beach.

On the mainland, the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve protects one of the largest rainforests in Central America, but illegal logging, cattle ranching and trafficking have put it on UNESCO's in-danger list.

Gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18, drug trafficking and extortion have made San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa among the most violent cities in the Americas, although homicide rates have fallen from their peak in the early 2010s.

In December 2022 the government declared a partial state of exception in the worst-affected municipalities, extended many times and in force until January 2026. The disputed 2025 election and its long count brought protests before Nasry Asfura's inauguration.

Remittances, mostly from the United States, account for about a quarter of the economy. Honduras switched diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China in 2023.

For travellers the practical answer is route planning: fly directly to Roatán where possible, reach Copán from Guatemala or by daytime shuttle, transit the big cities by day, and remember the CA-4 90-day rule shared with Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.