Though Hurricane Mitch wreaked havoc on much of Honduras, it spared the country's most important archaeological site, the Maya ruins at Copan.
"The monument was left untouched," said Oscar Cruz, regional director in Copan of the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History. "There was damage to the small bridge leading from the town, but we are bringing tourists in from the south without any problem."Copan, which is on UNESCO's World Heritage list, is one of the more important Maya sites for its size and for the quality of its art and architecture. The impressive ruins, the country's biggest tourist attraction, lie in a valley on the western side of the devastated Central American country.
What the tourists see today was built between 400 and 900 A.D. Among the best-known features of Copan are the Hieroglyphic Stairway, 63 steps of text telling the history of Copan's dynasty; dozens of beautifully carved stelae, or stone trees, sculpted almost in the round and left behind by its 16 kings; and the Ball Court, second only in size to the ball court in Mexico's Chichen Itza.
In the late 1980s, a building, showing its original colored walls, was found intact inside another building. Reproduction of this building, the Rosalila, is in the Museum of Sculptures in the park.
In the town of Copan Ruinas, a mile from the ruins, the news was also good. "We're 100 percent operational," said Juan Angel Welchez, manager of the 40-room Marina Hotel, one of the better hotels in the town center.
"We never closed. For the first few days after the storm, we were getting our food supplies from Guatemala 8 miles away, but now the road to San Pedro Sula is open, and we have no problem getting whatever we need."
Welchez said his hotel was mostly full with Swiss and French tourists, but he expressed concern about the future. "We have had groups cancel their reservations."
He has reason to worry: The visitor count at the ruins has dropped dramatically.
"We were the only ones on the main plaza," said Chuck Walker, one of 32 Americans traveling to the ruins with LifeLong Learning Tours on a recent day. Walker arrived by tour bus from Guatemala, as most tourists today do. "The road was open all the way and had plenty of traffic."
The airport in San Pedro Sula, the closest to the ruins, though officially open, suffered equipment damage and is still undergoing repairs.
Walker, who had visited Copan before, saw little change from his previous visits. "Food and water are plentiful, and hotel services are as usual."