Copán Ruinas is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the Honduran department of

Copán Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It is one of the most important sites of the Maya civilization, which was not excavated until the ...

. The town, located close to the

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

n border, is a major gateway for tourists traveling to the

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

ruins of

. The Copán ruins house a UN World Heritage site and are renowned for the hieroglyphic staircase, stellae, and museum.[a
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Project Honduras

Every year in December, the town hosts the Conference on Honduras put on by Project Honduras. The conference is an opportunity for individuals and Grassroots, grassroots organizations to discuss ways to improve the quality of life in Honduras through addressing the social and economic needs of the country, primarily in the areas of education, healthcare, and community building. The theme of the Conference on Honduras on 18–20 October 2012 was "Understanding the Security Situation in Honduras".

Education

The town has many small language schools that offer classes for travelers.

Transport

The town is linked to the Honduran-Guatemalan border, approximately 20 minutes away by road to the Aduana El Florido station. Copán Ruinas Airport is a civilian-use facility about 20 km east of the town center. There is no public transport network, as most transit is done by small motorized taxi-bikes or

tuk tuk An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...

. Private shuttles link Copán Ruinas to Guatemala City and Antigua Guatemala, and private company buses serve daily routes to

San Pedro Sula San Pedro Sula () is the capital of Cortés Department, Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country in the Sula Valley, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea. With a population of 701, ...

and the Honduran capital

Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...

References

External links

travel info and local news Community Development through the ArtsInformation on Maya culture in Copán for children 6-99 years old!Project Honduras
Municipalities of the Copán Department {{Honduras-geo-stub