Honduras is in second biggest country in Central America. It Colonial Villages (Gracias, Comayagua), ancient Maya ruins (Copan), Natural Parks (Moskitia) and Pacific and Caribbean Sea coastline, where the Bay Island offer great beaches and coral reefs where snorkeling and diving is a must. The country is neighboured by Guatemala to the northwest, El Salvador to the west and Nicaragua to the southeast.

Honduras is a poor country where tourism is still undeveloped. 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. 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.

In Pre-Columbian times, what is now Honduras was part of the Mesoamerican cultural area. The west contained the famous Maya civilization which are now the pre-Columbian city state ruins of Copán, that flourished for hundreds of years until the early 9th century. Remains of other Pre-Columbian cultures are found throughout the country, notably at sites like La Travecia and the Ulua valley. A collection of the nation's pre-Hispanic artifacts can be found at the National Museum in Tegucigalpa.

Christopher Columbus landed on mainland Honduras near modern Trujillo in 1502, giving the country its name (which means depths) in reference to the deep water off the coast. Spaniard Hernán Cortés arrived in 1524. Some local tribes and nations continued to fight the Spanish invaders through the late 1530s; one native defender, Lempira, was leader of the Lenca people, and is now considered a national hero whom the currency is named after. As the Spanish began founding settlements along the coast Honduras came under the control of the Captaincy General of Guatemala. The cities of Comayagua and Tegucigalpa developed as early mining centers.

Honduras, along with the other Central American provinces, gained independence from Spain in 1821; it then briefly was annexed to the Mexican Empire. In 1823, Honduras joined the newly formed United Provinces of Central America. Before long social and economic differences between Honduras and its regional neighbors exacerbated harsh partisan strife among its leaders, bringing about the federation's collapse in 1838-39. General Francisco Morazán, a Honduran national hero, led unsuccessful efforts to maintain the federation. Restoring Central American unity remained the officially stated chief aim of Honduran foreign policy until after World War I.

In 1888 a projected railroad line from the Caribbean coast to the capital, Tegucigalpa, ran out of money when it reached San Pedro Sula, resulting in its growth into the nation's main industrial center and second largest city.

Since independence, Honduras has had 300 internal rebellions, civil wars, and changes of government -- more than half occurring during the 20th century. Traditionally lacking both an economic infrastructure and social and political integration, Honduras's agriculturally based economy came to be dominated by [[United States companies, notably United Fruit Company and Standard Fruit Company, which established vast banana plantations along the north coast. The economic dominance and political influence of these companies was so great from the late 19th until the mid 20th century that it coined the term banana republic. During the relatively stable years of the Great Depression, authoritarian General Tiburcio Carías Andino controlled Honduras. His ties to dictators in neighboring countries and to U.S. banana companies helped him maintain power until 1948. By then, provincial military leaders had begun to gain control of the two major parties, the National Party of Honduras (PNH) and the Liberal Party of Honduras (PLH).

In October 1955,after two authoritarian administrations and a general strike by banana workers on the north coast in 1954, young military reformists staged a coup that installed a provisional junta. The death penalty was abolished in 1956, though the last person to be executed was in 1940. The current PNH presidential candidate Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo wants to bring it back. There were constituent assembly elections in 1957. This assembly appointed Ramon Villeda Morales as President, becoming a national Congress with a 6-year term. The PLH ruled during 1957-63. The military began to become a professional institution independent of leadership from any one political party, with the newly created military academy graduating its first class in 1960. In October 1963, conservative military officers preempted constitutional elections and deposed Villeda in a bloody coup. These officers exiled PLH members. The armed forces, under General Oswaldo López Arellano, governed until 1970.

In July 1969 Honduras was invaded by El Salvador in the short Football War. Tensions in the aftermath of the conflict remain.

A civilian president, PNH Ramón Ernesto Cruz Uclés, took power briefly in 1970 but proved unable to manage the government, and in December 1972, López staged another coup. he adopted more progressive policies, including land reform, but his regime was brought down in 1975 by scandals.

López's successors continued armed forces modernization programs, building army and security forces, and concentrating on Honduran air force superiority over its neighbors. The regimes of General Juan Alberto Melgar Castro (1975-78) and General Policarpo Paz García (1978-83) largely built the current physical infrastructure and telecommunications system of Honduras. The country also enjoyed its most rapid economic growth during this period, due to greater international demand for its products and the increased availability of foreign commercial lending.

In 1979 the Honduran military accelerated plans to return the country to civilian rule. A constituent assembly was popularly elected in April 1980 and general elections were held in November 1981. A new constitution was approved in 1982 and the PLH government of Roberto Suazo Córdova assumed power.

Between 1979 and 1985, U.S. military and economic aid to Honduras jumped from $31 million to $282 million, in exchange agreeing to become a base for an estimated 15,000 Nicaraguan Contras, providing logistical and intelligence support, and joining the U.S. military in joint maneuvers. During the same period, U.S. development aid fell from 80% of the total to 6%, with 70% of the nation's children suffering malnourishment.

Suazo relied on U.S. support, complemented by ambitious social and economic development projects sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), to help with a severe economic recession and with the perceived threats of the revolutionary Sandinista government in Nicaragua amid civil war in both Guatemala and El Salvador. Honduras became host to the largest Peace Corps mission in the world and non-governmental and international voluntary agencies proliferated.

As the November 1985 election approached, the PLH could not settle on a presidential candidate and interpreted election law as permitting multiple candidates from any one party. The PLH claimed victory when its presidential candidates collectively outpolled the PNH candidate, Rafael Leonardo Callejas, who received 42% of the total vote. José Azcona Hoyo, the candidate receiving the most votes 27% among the Liberals, assumed the presidency in January 1986. With strong endorsement and support from the Honduran military, the Suazo Administration ushered in the first peaceful transfer of power between civilian presidents in more than 30 years.

Major international airports with daily flights to Miami and New York are in San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa (Toncontin) and Roatan. The main international airlines serving the region are Taca, Copa Airlines and American Airlines. For interior flights check Isleña, Atlantic and Aerolinas Sosa.

Cities

* Tegucigalpa - The capital and largest city of Honduras (1 million). It has international airport and offers connections by plane to San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba, the door to the Bay Islands and the Caribbean Coast.

* San Pedro Sula - Second city and industrial center in the north of the country. It has international airport and is close by car to Tela and La Ceiba, the door to the Bay Islands and the Caribbean Coast.

* Comayagua - The former capital of the country is today a quiet colonial town with a beautiful cathedral and historical town center.

* La Ceiba - The door to the Caribbean Coast and the Bay Island. Great beaches, and daily ferries to either Utila and Roatan, where snorkeling and diving is a must.

Climate

Subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains. Natural hazards: extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast. The small Pacific coast region is susceptible to earthquakes.