Gualcince is a municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 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 Lempira.
Gualcince is one of the several municipalities of the Lempira department. It is located 78 km from Gracias

Gracias

Gracias is a small Honduran town/municipality that was founded in 1536, and has a population of approximately 25,000 people...

 city. It is necessary to pass by San Juan, Intibuca and through the municipalities of Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, Lempira

Santa Cruz is a municipality in the Honduran department of Lempira.Santa Cruz is one of the most hidden municipalities of the Lempira department. It is 70 km away from the city of Gracias, forced to pass by San Juan del Caite in Intibuca.- History :...

 and San Andrés

San Andrés, Lempira

San Andrés is a municipality in the Honduran department of Lempira. It is notable as the principal site in Honduras for the mining of andesite opals from Las Colinas deposit near Sosoal, which is in the municipality. This mining is largely performed by artisanal miners, rather than on an industrial...

. It has 2 accesses, which separate from the main road that leads to southern municipalities. The road is constantly being repaired. There are several sections of this roads that are narrow, so careful driving is advised, especially for buses and trucks.

History

It was first called "Gualán". There is no accurate date for its foundation, but in some old books of real state, it is registered that the Catholic Church was built back in 1,576. In the census of 1,791 it was the capital of the "Cerquin" curato. In the national division of 1889 was one of the municipalities of Candelaria

Candelaria, Lempira

Candelaria is a municipality in the Honduran department of Lempira.Candelaria is one of the municipalities of the Lempira department. It is located 96 km away from Gracias city, and passing by San Juan del Caite...

 district. It became a municipality in 1840.

Geography

It has huge mountains covered with pine forests. One of them is "Congolon" mountain. These mountain are favorable for coffee plantations and also for water springs.

Boundaries

Its boundaries are:

• North : San Andrés
  San Andrés, Lempira
  San Andrés is a municipality in the Honduran department of Lempira. It is notable as the principal site in Honduras for the mining of andesite opals from Las Colinas deposit near Sosoal, which is in the municipality. This mining is largely performed by artisanal miners, rather than on an industrial...
  
   and Erandique
  Erandique
  Erandique is a municipality in the Honduran department of Lempira.Erandique, is one of the several municipalities of the Lempira department. One has to travel 65 km from the city of Gracias passing by San Juan . A second road that leads to Erandique is going by the town of "Dolores" in...
  
   municipalities.
• South : Mapulaca
  Mapulaca
  Mapulaca is a municipality in the Honduran department of Lempira.Mapulaca is one of the smallest municipalities in the south of Lempira department. It is hard to get there and the traveler can take any road, however, the suggested option is via Santa Rosa de Copán-San Marcos de...
  
   and Candelaria
  Candelaria, Lempira
  Candelaria is a municipality in the Honduran department of Lempira.Candelaria is one of the municipalities of the Lempira department. It is located 96 km away from Gracias city, and passing by San Juan del Caite...
  
   municipalities.
• East : Piraera
  Piraera
  Piraera is one of the municipalities of Lempira department in Honduras. It is located on one of the branches of "Congolón" mountain, it is 105 km away from the city of Gracias.- History :...
  
   municipality.
• West : La Virtud
  La Virtud
  La Virtud is a municipality in the Honduran department of Lempira.La Virtud is one of the municipalities of the Lempira department. It is also one of the furthest from the big cities in Honduras but near to El Salvador border. It takes up to 4 hours to get there taking either way of Gracias or...
  
   minicipality.

• Surface Extents: 163 km²

Resources

The Coffee plantations are the main economical activity, and the geography has a lot to do with it. Corn and beans can not be excluded since they are part of the national diet. The cattle raising is only for local consumption. The vegetables are scarce there for they are brought from other municipalities and even from other departments, such as Intibuca.

Population

The cross-breed of Spanish settlers and native Indian represents half of the population. The 2nd half consists of native Indians descendants.

• Population: this municipality had approximately 9,537 people. The INE used this figure to elaborate estimates, and the number of people in 2008 could be 10,681.
• Villages: 12
• Settlements: 103

Tourism

Gualcince displays incredible landscapes of high, steep pine forest mountains. Also the very old buildings such as the Catholic Church and some houses that are still occupied. It does not have any hostels, but fortunately Candelaria

Candelaria, Lempira

Candelaria is a municipality in the Honduran department of Lempira.Candelaria is one of the municipalities of the Lempira department. It is located 96 km away from Gracias city, and passing by San Juan del Caite...

is 40 minutes away. Grocery stores make it easier to spend some time there. One popular dish there, are the "Pupusas de Flor de Oroco".

• Local Holidays: December 8; "Inmaculapa Concepcion" day.