Turismo

La Ceiba is the capital of the Honduran Caribbean, carnival
bride, terrace to the sea, dance floor and home to rich natural
treasures. The city was born in the late nineteenth century
around an immense ceiba, the sacred tree of the Maya. Like
many Caribbean cities, La Ceiba grew with the banana trade,
an activity that also connects it to the world, especially with
New Orleans (USA) and some European ports. The city is
known for its hospitable and friendly people, and it is
surrounded by sea, reef, natural parks, mountains and
mangrove. One of these parks is Cuero y Salado Wildlife
Refuge, home of the Caribbean manatee.
Very close to La Ceiba is Pico Bonito, the second largest
national park in Honduras offering various attractions. In
addition to white water rivers perfect for kayaking and
rafting, you can walk among the clouds in the park's cloud
forest. Pico Bonito is also home to a diverse wildlife and offers
mountaineers and photographers countless opportunities to
appreciate wildlife, including jaguars, tapirs, pumas, whitefaced
monkeys and spider monkeys.
The Lancetilla Botanical Garden is the second largest tropical
garden in the world. It has the largest collection of exotic
plants in Latin America, with native species from Oceania,
Africa and Asia, and serves as a refuge or home to more than
300 species of birds. The United Fruit Company, established
in Honduras since the beginning of the 20th century, created
the garden in the Lancetilla Valley in 1925 as a research
center, and to experiment with tropical plants with economic
potential. Located only minutes from downtown Tela,
Lancetilla is known for the natural arches created by bamboo
shoots folded at its entrance. This "Bamboo Tunnel" is iconic
of the garden and the city.
Punta Izopo, at the eastern end of Tela Bay, has one of the
oldest mangrove forests in the world. The best way to
discover it is by kayaking through the mangroves to the
lagoon formed by two rivers in the area. Its rich habitat
includes parrots, toucans, monkeys, caimans and turtles.
Tela is the second most important city in the department of
Atlántida, after La Ceiba, and it is within the wide Bay of Tela
near El Progreso and San Pedro Sula. Surrounded by parks,
natural reserves and beautiful wide beaches, this town shines
under the same Caribbean sun and hosts multiple sand,
vegetation and water adventures. The perfect escape is
experienced by boat toward the west of the bay to the
Jeannette Kawas National Park, where you find Punta Sal, an
ecosystem of tropical rainforest and mangroves.
In Omoa, a few minutes to the west of Puerto Cortes, is the
Fort of San Fernando de Omoa, possibly representing the
most important defense structure of Central America during
the colonial era. It was proclaimed National Historic Center in
1959, and adjacent to it is the museum that exhibits historical
and relevant material about the fort. Visitors can appreciate
a scale model of the fortress, armors and armaments of
the time, among other artifacts. Although a small town, the
Omoa area has beaches and some tourist developments that
combine sea, sand and mountains, just a few meters from the
coast.
DIRECTORIO ORQUÍDEA EMPRESARIAL 2017
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