Frommer's Central America by Eliot Greenspan

Author:Eliot Greenspan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Published: 2011-03-02T16:00:00+00:00

Santa Rosa de Copán

45km (28 miles) to Gracias; 110km (68 miles) to Copán

Santa Rosa is the commercial and administrative hub of western Honduras, and, though it isn’t overflowing with tourist sights, it makes a good base for exploring elsewhere in the department of Lempira. The town has long been known for growing high-quality tobacco, and this crop has played an important part in the town’s history. The La Real Factoria del Tabaco was established here by the Spanish in 1765, and it led to considerable wealth for the city. Today the city still boasts a number of pretty, azulejo-covered colonial buildings that were built by the Spanish, and tobacco remains an important part of the economy.

Essentials

From San Pedro Sula, take CA 4 to La Entrada and head south on CA 11-A; the trip takes about 2 1/2 hours. To drive to or from Copán, you must also go through La Entrada, and transfer to Hwy. 11.

The city’s bus terminal sits in a lot on the main road about 1.5km (1 mile) from the center. Direct buses make the 3-hour trip to San Pedro Sula about four times per day; tickets cost L80. To get to Copán Ruínas, you can either take a 3-hour direct bus (L40) or transfer after 1 1/2 hours to La Entrada (L20) for a Copán bus (L20). Buses also make the 1 1/4-hour trip to Gracias (L30) and the 2 1/2-hour trip to the Guatemalan border at Aguas Caliente (L75). All buses leave when they’re full, not according to a set schedule.

There are two sections of Santa Rosa. The first is the colonial core of the city, which centers on the top of a hill that includes Parque Central and the Centro Historico. The other lines the highway about 1km (2⁄3 mile) from the center, and is where you’ll find the bus terminal, the cigar factory, and many poorly constructed residences. Taxis can shuttle you between the center and the highway for about L20.

The tourist office ( 504/662-2234) is in a round building smack in the middle of Parque Central and doubles as a cybercafé. It’s open Monday to Saturday from 8am to noon and 1:30 to 6pm.

Banco Atlántida (south side of Parque Central) has a 24-hour ATM and will exchange traveler’s checks. The tourist office ( 504/662-2234) is in a round building smack in the middle of Parque Central and doubles as a cybercafé (Mon–Sat 8am–noon and 1:30–6pm).

What to See & Do

Just entering the Flor de Copán Cigar Factory ★★ (4 blocks east of the bus terminal, Barrio Miraflores; 504/662-0111; admission L40; daily 10am–2pm) building is intoxicating—the scent of tobacco is in the air as you enter the premises. During your tour, you’ll get a fascinating look into a full-fledged, working Honduras cigar maker. Highlights include peeks at warehouses full of drying tobacco leaves, as well as rooms of workers deveining the leaves, shaping the tobacco, rolling the cigars, and finally packing the final product for export.

Although you can’t buy cigars at the Flor de Copán cigar factory, you can purchase them from the distributor Tabacos Hondureños S.

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