Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
make the water perfect forasoak.Youcan catch apickup here fromtown,butabetter way
to get here is to combine a visit to the springs with a trip out to Finca El Cisne, preferably
overnight, when you can use the springs after they have closed to other visitors.
Finca El Cisne
Farther along this same road and a 45-minute drive from Copán Ruinas is a century-old,
1,000-hectare coffee farm where you can ride horseback, tour the coffee and cardamom
plantations, and bathe in warm jungle hot springs. Cowboy Carlos Castejón, whose family
ownsthefarm,leadsmosttripsandspeaksgoodEnglish.Hecanshowyouaroundthefarm
and show you everything you ever wanted to know about coffee cultivation. The farm also
produces breadfruit, beans, avocados, corn, plantains, and oranges, among other crops.
Daytrips(leavingat8A.M.andreturningat6P.M.,$50)includehorsebackriding,visits
tothecardamomandcoffeefields,lunch,andavisittothenearbyhotsprings.Youcanalso
stay overnight in a cozy solar-powered cabin with all of the above plus meals for $75. The
booking and information office is across the street from the Via Via in a shared office with
Basecamp Outdoor Adventures.
Quiriguá,aMayansitethatoncerivaledCopánastheregionalcenterofpower,isstillhome
to the region's tallest stelae. It makes a good excursion on the way to Puerto Barrios when
traveling along highway CA-9.
Setamidbananaplantations,theMayansiteofQuiriguáissmallerbutsomewhatsimilarto
Copán,particularlyinregardtoitsinhabitants'skillandpropensityinthecarvingofstelae.
It'sjust50kilometersfromCopánasthemacawflies,backontheGuatemalanside,though
gettingherefromCopánisabitmorecomplicatedthanitlooksonamapbecausetheroads
are structured so as to make you loop west, north, and then finally east on the highway
leading to the Caribbean Coast (CA-9). Coming from Guatemala City, it's just a few kilo-
meters down a dirt road turnoff from the main highway (CA-9), making it a worthy side
tripalongtheroadtoPuertoBarriosorRíoDulce.Restorationofthesitewasconductedby
theUniversityofPennsylvaniainthe1930sandin1981QuiriguáwasdeclaredaUNESCO
World Heritage Site. The only other sites of this kind in Guatemala are Tikal and Antigua.
It boasts the tallest known Mayan stela.
History
