Copán Ruinas

Copán was one of the great centers of Maya civilization over a thousand years ago. The beautiful ruins have some of the most impressive pre-Columbian art anywhere. Near the ruins is the village of nearly the same name - Copán Ruinas, with clean hotels and other facilities for visitors. Due to their proximity, both locations are covered by this article.

Understand


The ruins are quite substantial and a major tourist attraction in western Honduras. While less visited than the better known tourist attraction ruins like Chichen Itza, many people find them even more interesting.

Copán is in a fertile river valley and nestled among rolling hills, at an elevation so it is not so very hot as some of the Central American rainforest sites.

Although many tourists just stop by the ruins on a day trip, the town is very pleasant (and safe) and can be worth spending two days or so in.

Get in
The modern village of Copán remains relatively remote today, as such the Honduran government hasn't prioritized high quality road construction in this area yet. There is an airport a few miles from here, but no commercial flights serve it. So however you get here, expect a bit of a bumpy ride.

By bus
Copán Ruinas is not well connected to the rest of the country. For local connections, La Entrada will be your destination of choice, and for most any other Honduran service you'll need to start at San Pedro Sula. Bus leaves 4 times a day, but don't trust the printed schedule. For example, the schedule showed a bus at 13:00, but time in the sold ticket was 12:10, and that's when the bus left. So, check the time on the ticket or ask a cashier.

Getting to San Pedro Sula from Guatemala is possible on local busses, but if you have the extra coin, it will save you a lot of time and headaches to book direct transit from Guaté or Antigua.

Almost every bus in town leaves from the ; it doesn't have any real amenities to speak of, it's just a small parking lot adjacent to the river on the east side of town. The only reason to not use this station is if you're boarding a luxury class Hedman Alas bus. The is much nicer, offering a waiting room, clean bathrooms, and a snack bar. Although &mdash; when compared to the station &mdash; these worn-out busses leave much to be desired (not operating in Nov. '23). This station is just down the hill from the village.

From Guatemala City
Take a bus from Centra Norte to Chiquimula (every 10 minutes, Q45, 4 hr). From Chiquimula, take a small bus to the very calm border El Florido (every 10 minutes, Q16, 2 hr with connection in Jocotán.) Across the border, buses go every 20 minutes to Copán Ruinas (L20, 30 minutes.)

From El Salvador
Cross the border at El Poy, and from there get a shared taxi to Ocotepeque (L20). Next, board a San Pedro Sula bound bus and get off at La Entrada (L90), finally switch to a minibus for Copán Ruinas (L40).

There are also direct shuttles between Copán Ruinas and many tourist spots in El Salvador, such as Santa Ana, San Salvador, or El Tunco. Any of which may be booked in advance through your hotel, or online.

By car
Your only option here is the same as the bus, driving down CA-11. This "highway" is riddled with potholes, and has certainly seen better days. To the west, Guatemala is right next door, while San Pedro Sula lies away to the east. Heading towards SPS, the quality of your trip should improve after an hour or so once you switch onto CA-4. However, road maintenance encountered during winter 2018 was just getting underway, and rendered CA-4 almost worse than CA-11. Pad a little extra time for your trip, and rent something with decent suspension and road clearance.

Get around
Copán is a small community, so don't worry about mapping sights before you get there. If you are a walker and sure-footed, it is safe to walk the cobblestone streets anywhere in town or walk to the ruins on foot. Streets are reportedly safe after dark, but standard precautions apply.

Mototaxis (Honduran rickshaws) will take you anywhere in town for a small fee (L10 around town, L20 to the Ruins/Macaw Mountain).

The Mayan Ruins are a short walk out of town and a further 20 minutes walk will take you to Las Sepulturas, a wonderfully open section of the ruins that many people fail to visit - don't! There is also a short nature walk at the main ruins that meanders around other smaller ruins.

See
Las Copán Ruinas (entry US$15/person) are the highlight of Copán. Although quite extensive, they are not as huge as Tikal in Guatemala or Teotihuacan in Mexico, but there is more sculpture here than any other Pre-Columbian city. The ruins are prized for the carved stellae of ancient rulers, and the well preserved hieroglyphics including the hieroglyphic stairway. Also in the archaeological park is a marvellous Mayan museum (entry US$7/person) with a reconstructed temple and fabulous artefacts. Fans of Maya art or ancient ruins can easily spend two full days between the two main ruins sites and museum. The tunnels are reportedly not worth the extra fee, and are not authentic, having been dug by archaeologists in the 1980s (these tunnels were originally dug for investigation and they show to the visitors the buried parts of older temples since the Mayans built on top of the older structures to make the new ones taller ). In July 2011 it was possible to visit the Sepulturas on the next day without purchasing a second ticket although the main ticket office may not tell you this.

It's recommended to be there when it opens at 08:00, as the site gets very hot by mid-day. Hire a guide at the entrance to the ruins for US$25 divided between however many people you can collect. Cesar (good accented English) and Antonio (few teeth, excellent English) are recommended if they're around.

Besides the ruins, the countryside is attractive. Slow paced local life is quite calm, and farming of corn, beans, coffee, and tobacco is the main vocation.

A LOT of wildlife can be seen at Copan Ruinas, especially at the ruins themselves. Many birds species are very commonly found there, including turquoise browed motmots (the national bird of El Salvador), collared aracaris (a type of toucan), and other birds such as woodpeckers and. The most famous bird here, however, is the scarlet macaw, which can be seen all over the ruins and even in the middle of town. Just listen out for their loud squawking.



Volunteer
There are many community-building projects in and around Copán Ruinas. One site to check out is Mayatan Bilingual School, a locally-founded independent, non-profit school that educates local children in Spanish and English. The school relies on foreign volunteers to teach its English language courses (Pre-K through high school), and it always welcomes visitors. Mayatan is located on the path to the Macaw Mountain bird park, about 1.5 km from the center of town, or a L15 (75¢) taxi ride. Contact [mailto:tommy@mayatanfoundaiton.org Tommy] for more information.

Buy
There is an unimpressive market near el Centro. On Sundays, fruit vendors line el Centro with their pickup trucks.



Eat
Most places offer a plato tipico de Honduras. This includes beef strips (or sometimes chicken or eggs), beans, fried plantains, tortillas, cabbage and sour cream. Licuados are either water- or milk-based fruit smoothies that for L30 should be enjoyed every day. Local meals run L80-120.

Sleep
The town of Copán Ruinas has all types of accommodations for all prices ranges. Most places are located within two blocks of Parque Central.

Go next

 * A highlight of any trip to Central America, Antigua Guatemala is that country's beautiful colonial capital. Its cobblestoned streets and graceful architecture are guaranteed to charm.
 * Spend a few relaxed days exploring the lush area around Lake Yojoa. It's kind of like Lake Atitlán, except without any of the tourist infrastructure, for better or worse. A wide range of climates (lakes, jungles, cloud forest, and volcanoes) each harbors their own biodiversity to discover.
 * While San Pedro Sula isn't high on many wish lists, it nevertheless owns a modern, gigantic, and well connected bus station. Secured just outside the city center, thousands of folks pass this way daily.