Every country in the world has endless tourists attractions giving to them by Mother Nature and Honduras could not be an exception. Our country possesses two great oceans, lagoons, lakes, forest, valleys, settlements, picturesque towns with spanish colonial style architecture as well as the remains of civilizations which have disappeared hundreds of years ago, white sandy beaches.
In this way and many more, Honduras is like many countries in the world, as far as tourist attractions are concerned. Likewise, national and foreign tourists come to acquaint themselves and to spend their most enjoyable vacations ever.
Honduras was home to several important Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya, before the Spanish invaded in the sixteenth century. The Spanish introduced Roman Catholicism and the now predominant Spanish language, along with numerous customs that have blended with the indigenous culture. Honduras became independent in 1821 and has since been a republic, although it has consistently endured much social strife and political instability, and remains one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere. In 1960, the northern part of what was the Mosquito Coast was transferred from Nicaragua to Honduras by the International Court of Justice.
The literal meaning of the term “Honduras” is “depths” in Spanish. The name could either refer to the bay of Trujillo as an anchorage, fondura in the Leonese dialect of Spanish, or to Columbus’s alleged quote that “Gracias a Dios que hemos salido de esas Honduras” (“Thank God we have departed from those depths”). It was not until the end of the 16th century that Honduras was used for the whole province.
Prior to 1580, Honduras only referred to the eastern part of the province, and Higueras referred to the western part.
