Copán Ruinas
Encyclopedia
Copán Ruinas is a municipality
in the Honduran
department of Copán. The town, located close to the Guatemala
n border, is a major gateway for tourists traveling to the Pre-Columbian
ruins of Copán
. The Copán ruins house a UN World Heritage site and are renowned for the hieroglyphic staircase, stellae, and museum.
to discuss ways to improve the quality of life in Honduras through addressing the social and economic needs of the country, primarily in the areas of education, healthcare, and community building. The theme of the Conference on Honduras on 24–26 September 2009 will be "Mobilizing the youth of Honduras to change the country".
. Located a few blocks from the main square are the Ixbalanque language school and the Guacamaya Spanish School, which offer immersion Spanish and can arrange living with local families.
Municipalities of Honduras
The 18 departments of Honduras are divided into 299 municipalities . Municipalities have elected mayors , as opposed to the appointed governors of departments. For statistical purposes, the municipalities are further subdivided into 3731 aldeas, and those into 27969 caserios...
in the Honduran
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
department of Copán. The town, located close to the Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
n border, is a major gateway for tourists traveling to the Pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
ruins of Copán
Copán
Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD...
. The Copán ruins house a UN World Heritage site and are renowned for the hieroglyphic staircase, stellae, and museum.
Project Honduras
Every year in October, the town hosts the Conference on Honduras put on by Project Honduras. The conference is an opportunity for individuals and grassroots organizationsGrassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
to discuss ways to improve the quality of life in Honduras through addressing the social and economic needs of the country, primarily in the areas of education, healthcare, and community building. The theme of the Conference on Honduras on 24–26 September 2009 will be "Mobilizing the youth of Honduras to change the country".
Education
The town has many small language schools that offer classes for travelers. On a hillside just outside town is the bilingual (English/Spanish) Mayatan SchoolMayatan School
Mayatan Bilingual School is a non-profit, private, independent bilingual co-educational day school located in Copán Ruinas, Copán, Honduras. In the 2010-11 school year the enrollment was 300 students from Pre-Kinder through 11th grade...
. Located a few blocks from the main square are the Ixbalanque language school and the Guacamaya Spanish School, which offer immersion Spanish and can arrange living with local families.