Understand

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Honduras is a poor country where tourism is still underdeveloped. Good amenities can be found in cities like Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, and La Ceiba but elsewhere conditions can be primitive, especially in the rural areas. You can find good hotels even in small towns if you are willing to pay a bit more (Honduras is not really an expensive country). Nevertheless a visit is worthwhile, especially to the ancient Maya ruins in Copán, the colonial towns of Gracias and Comayagua and the fantastic Caribbean Coast.

Climate
Subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains. Natural hazards: extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast. However, the last damaging hurricane was in 1998. The small Pacific coast region is susceptible to j

Terrain
Mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains. Has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast. Experiences frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes. Highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 meters.

History
Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation on 15 September 1821.

After two and one-half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras was a haven for the Reagan-sponsored anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Sandinista government of Nicaragua and an ally to Salvadoran government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas.

The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused almost $1 billion in damage, affecting seriously the development of the country and its main infrastructures.

Eat

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The Honduran "Plato tipico" is the most famous lunch. It consists of rice, beef, fried beans (frijolitos), and fried bananas (tajaditas). If you are lucky, it will also come with chimol, a fresh, non-spicy salsa made of tomatoes, green peppers, onions, cilantro and lime juice.

Baleadas are a Honduran original. A baleada sencilla (simple) consists of a thick flour tortilla filled with refried beans, cheese (queso), and a type of cream similar to sour cream but not sour (crema or mantequilla). A baleada especial usually also comes with eggs in it and you can sometimes get avacado or even meat.

Other choices are tacos and enchiladas, though don't expect them to be like those in Mexico. The tacos are meat rolled in a corn tortilla and deep fried. The enchiladas are a flat fried corn tortilla topped with ground beef, cheese and a red sauce.

In the big cities, there are also plenty of chains from the U.S. like Pizza Hut, Applebees, TGI Fridays, and all the burger and fried chicken joints you can think of.

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