Santa Rosa de Copan

With a population of over 30,000, Santa Rosa is the most important commercial and political city in Western Honduras. It serves as the administrative center for the departments of Copan, Lempira and Ocotepeque.

One of the best highways in Central America, known as the western highway, which leads from San Pedro Sula to the El Poy border with El Salvador and to the Agua Caliente border with Guatemala goes through Santa Rosa. As such it is a good point to stop over on your trip from Honduras to El Salvador, as well as if you are headed for the city of Esquipulas in Guatemala. Its great restaurant facilities, good hotels and pleasant atmosphere are all available to you at most affordable prices, as this is a city that caters mostly to the local market, but loves to have tourists within it.

The importance of Santa Rosa as a community goes back to colonial times, when, due to the high quality of tobacco being cultivated in the region, the Spanish authorities chose the community as the site for the “La Real Factoria del Tabaco” (translated as the Royal Tobacco Factory) back in 1765. The Royal Tobacco Factory was the government office in charge of distributing seeds and utensils required for the cultivation of tobacco, as well as setting its official price and marketing the product. This became the prime activity of the community and was a definite growth promoter. The high quality of the local tobacco brought in good profits to the region, sparking further development.

According to official records, Santa Rosa de Copan was a significant a village, then known as “Los Llanos" as far back as 1791, and in 1812 it was declared a municipality. When the department of Copan was split away from the department of Gracias (now Lempira), Santa Rosa de Copan was immediately declared the capital of the new department.

With the passing of time, Santa Rosa has prospered and diversified its activities. Today it’s most important activity is commerce, and more and more entrepreneurs are considering tourism as a very viable activity for the city, due to its strategic location and lovely colonial atmosphere. It is hard to find a city of the size of Santa Rosa where the majority of its streets are still coble-stoned. A group of small and medium sized entrepreneurs have now gotten together and are forming a local Tourism Commission. This commission has an information office located at the small kiosk at Central Park. We recommend you visit them for up to date information regarding local activities that might be of interest to you.

The immediate area surrounding Santa Rosa offers a wide array of activities for the adventurers and nature lovers. Hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and swimming are all available. The La Montañita park is a pleasant setting that offers lovely spots to spend the day, including a natural swimming area. Don’t miss the Balneario Ecoturistico las Tres Jotas, located 24 km. from Santa Rosa on the highway towards Gracias. Here you can enjoy thermal pools, tours to tobacco, coffee and lufah plantations, campgrounds and good 24 hr. security. Food and drinks are also available here, with outstanding fried fish as a local specialty.

Santa Rosa de Copan is great place from where to launch several day excursions. It is only 45km from the historical colonial city of Gracias, and with good bus service that connects both cities within 75 minutes. You can easily visit this city and be back in your hotel room that same evening. There is no question that Santa Rosa de Copan is the best gateway into the very little known  "Honduran Highlands", home to the indigenous Lenca Indians and to some of the most beautiful colonial towns in Central America.

The colonial indigenous cities of Corquin and  Belen Gualcho can be reached from Santa Rosa. Corquin is a lovely old city that retains its rural charm and has several beautiful waterfalls nearby. A new addition to this city is the Casa Grande Restaurant, located in a lovely, very well preserved colonial home with very artistic paintings. The restaurant, run by a friendly Tegucigalpa lady married to a local man offers outstanding typical Honduran food and the best information regarding the town and its surroundings. From Santa Rosa de Copan, you can hire a tour to Corquin through  Lenca Land Trails. Belen Gualcho is an indigenous -  colonial city with a very interesting church and a great market on Sundays, located past Corquin on the western side of the Celaque National Park. For those more interested in wildlife, in addition to Celaque National Park, located adjacent to the city of Gracias, the Reserva del Huisayote, a cloud forest located within 60 km of Santa Rosa is easily accessible, and is a great place to see exotic birds and animals, such as the elusive quetzal.

Whether you have time to visit these sites or not, Santa Rosa de Copan is a great place to spend your first or last night in Honduras before (or after) crossing the borders into El Salvador or Guatemala!

Santa Rosa offers several banks where you can get cash advances from your Visa credit cards, as well as change dollars into Lempiras. Typical of the city are the fine hand made cigars that are produced at the Flor de Copan cigar factory, whose factory outlet is located on Calle Centenario where you can  purchase cigars directly from the factory at bargain prices. The factory is now located near the bus terminal and  tours of the factory are now available Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m till 4:30 p.m. Price of tour is $2.00 USA per person.

There are many good and very reasonably priced restaurants in Santa Rosa. Try Pizza Pizza, owned by an expat and set in a very cozy old copanecan house. Other good alternatives are Flamingo, the most elegant restaurant in town, as well as El Rodeo, offering the best steaks in town.

For tours and other alternatives in the area, contact Lenca Land Trails, whose offices are at the Elvir Hotel, offers expeditions to Celaque National Park, archeology tours, rural tourism, and more.

For those who just can’t resist the temptation to play with Lady Luck, Cyber Café Copan has now opened its doors in Santa Rosa de Copan. They have slot machines and video poker. They are open daily, and are located across the street from the Kiosko Multicolor.