Tegucigalpa, the Capital of Honduras

Panoramic view of Tegucigalpa. Photo © Ian Mackenzie, licensed Creative Commons Attribution.

Honduras’s capital, a city of just over one million inhabitants, occupies a high mountain valley around 1,000 meters above sea level, with the Río Choluteca running right down the middle. The valley is ringed by mountains, with a narrow opening to the north allowing the Río Choluteca to continue on its convoluted course to the Pacific Ocean 130 kilometers away.

Opinions of Tegucigalpa—called “Tegus” (Tay-goose) by locals—vary wildly. Some visitors are uninspired and can’t wait to catch the next bus out of town, while others are charmed by the mix of colonial and modern buildings, the mountain setting, and its many services.

Among Tegucigalpa’s tourist attractions are several colonial churches, three museums, a number of markets, and plenty of handicraft stores, most in the downtown area.

Because of its altitude, Tegucigalpa has a pleasant climate year-round, generally warm during the day and cool at night, and the mean annual temperature is 28°C (82°F). September through November can be a bit cooler with some rain, and the coldest month is January, when frentes fríos, cold north winds, pass through town. Pollution can get heavy in March and April, the time in which farmers in the hills follow centuries-old slash-and-burn agricultural techniques.

Downtown Tegucigalpa

Orientation

Downtown Tegucigalpa is arranged around the parque central (central square), with the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel (known simply as la Catedral) on the east side. Most of the city’s government and business buildings were formerly located in the downtown area, but many have since moved out to Miraflores, Avenida Juan Pablo II, and other parts of the city, no doubt partly to escape the abysmal traffic. Most of the sights of interest to tourists are within walking distance of the parque central. Because of the city’s broken geography and haphazard construction over the centuries, Tegucigalpa does not have an ordered street plan and can be a bit confusing to navigate at first (a problem vastly compounded by the lack of street signs in many neighborhoods).

East and uphill from downtown are Barrio San Rafael and Colonia Palmira, the first modern, wealthy neighborhoods developed in Tegucigalpa and home to many of the city’s embassies, high-priced hotels, and nicer restaurants. Farther east continue Avenida La Paz, home to the imposing U.S. Embassy building, and the parallel Boulevard Morazán, with many shops, restaurants, and mini-malls. Avenida La Paz turns into Avenida Los Proceres at its eastern end, where it leads to the exit to Santa Lucía and Valle de Ángeles. Southeast of downtown extends Avenida Juan Pablo II, where the Clarion and Inter-Continental Hotels and the glitzy Mall Multiplaza are located, and Boulevard Suyapa, which leads to the Basílica de Suyapa and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras. Cutting across the south part of the city, connecting the San Pedro Sula exit to the highway leading east to Danlí, is the fast-moving Boulevard Fuerzas Armadas.

Across the Río Choluteca from downtown is Comayagüela, a noisier and poorer sister city to Tegucigalpa. The main city market and almost all of the long-distance bus stations are in Comayagüela. Some travelers may find it convenient and inexpensive to stay in Comayagüela, but avoid walking around after dark (and be on alert during the day).

Most budget travelers will end up staying in downtown Tegucigalpa, where inexpensive accommodations and food are available, and head over to Comayagüela for transport in and out of town. Travelers with a bigger budget, or those in Tegucigalpa for work, will spend most of their time in Colonia Palmira, on Boulevard Morazán and Avenida Juan Pablo II, for the higher-end restaurants and hotels.

Safety in Tegucigalpa

Like any big city in a poor country, Tegucigalpa can be a dangerous place. The great majority of visitors will have no problems at all, but muggings are a concern throughout the city. And remember, personal safety is always more valuable than anything you might be carrying. So should you be unlucky enough to be confronted by a mugger, give them what they ask for and do not resist. Be aware that the upscale neighborhood Colonia Palmira has become a popular spot for muggings, where would-be thieves are especially on the lookout for people with cell phones or laptops, and people walking alone. There are tourist police (as well as regular) throughout the historic center, and it is fine to walk around downtown during the day. Comayagüela is well known as the most dangerous part of the capital, although the worst areas are neighborhoods where travelers are unlikely to visit, such as Carrizal along the hillside-walking on the main streets during the day shouldn’t be a problem. The market is a haven for gangsters charging their “war tax” and is best avoided. Avoid walking after dark anywhere in the city.

One mugging tactic is to have two persons on a motorcycle, which slows as it passes you, and the rider yanks your purse or pack off your shoulder. Keep packs on both shoulders and purses with the strap over one shoulder and crossing your body, or keep your bag on the shoulder away from the street to make yourself less of a target for this type of mugging.

The smaller towns and countryside areas near Tegucigalpa mentioned in this guide, like Santa Lucía, Valle de Ángeles, Ojojona, Yuscarán, and La Tigra National Park, are all very safe.

Excerpted from the Sixth Edition of Moon Honduras & the Bay Islands.

Amy E. Robertson

About the Author

Amy E. Robertson has been passionate about volunteer vacations since she was 13, when she took her first service trip with Habitat for Humanity. Since then, she's traveled far and wide, visiting more than 60 countries and living in six. She has lived in Ecuador and Honduras and traveled in 12 other mainland Latin American countries (plus four in the Caribbean). In that time, Amy explored the snow-capped mountains, animal-packed jungles, sandy beaches, and temples of the Maya that make up this diverse area. She fell in love with the rich culture of the modern Quechua and the ancient Incas and found passion for salsa dancing. The volunteer experiences she had—from building homes in Honduras, to monitoring presidential elections in Ecuador, to working with youth in Bolivia on the creation of social documentaries—helped her to better understand the people she met and enriched her as much as it did those she supported.

Amy has a background in international development and nonprofit management, and has worked in both private and nonprofit sectors. She applied that expertise, as well as the advice and experiences of her extensive network of passionate “voluntourist” friends and colleagues, to her evaluation of volunteer programs for this book.

Amy is a Seattle native who has long been obsessed with travel. She studied in Boston and Madrid for her bachelor's degree and London for her master's degree in development studies (where she also met her husband, who hails from Italy). In 2012, after eight years living in Latin America, Amy moved with her husband and two children to Beirut, Lebanon. She spends three months a year divided between her family's hometowns: Seattle, Rome, and Messina, Sicily. She is the author of Moon Honduras & the Bay Islands, and her writing has been published in National Geographic Traveler, Christian Science Monitor, and Travel + Leisure, among others.

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