Central Park

Areal View of La Esperanza

Situated in the heart of the Honduran mainland, high up in the mountains, the department offers one of the best climate in Central America, intermingled with a pleasant, colonial city surrounded by mountains populated with small, indigenous towns full of color and folklore. Although Honduran indigenous people do not have the colorful costumes and traditions of neighboring Guatemala, this is by far the most colorful and traditional area of the Lenca community and one of the most intriguing areas of Honduras.

La Esperanza is located about 65km from the city of Siguatepeque, which is the halfway point on the San Pedro Sula to Tegucigalpa highway. With an altitude of one mile over sea level, (1,600 m.) climate here is famous for being the coldest in Honduras. The road from Siguatepeque to La Esperanza is completely paved and in good condition. La Esperanza can also be reached coming from Western Honduras via the colonial city of Gracias. I must stress though that this road is not fully paved and is sometimes in a very good state of repair and other times is terrible disrepair. Public transportation between Gracias and La Esperanza is extremely limited and unreliable, so unless you have your own car, you are usually better off reaching La Esperanza from Siguatepeque.

Pine-cloud mountains and pleasant colonial towns, where pre-Columbian traditions mingle with modern ones, surround the city of La Esperanza. Interesting examples of this are the Guancasco Festivals and the indigenous auxiliary city hall, where the local ethnic group actually elects its own mayor, which represents them and interacts with the official mayor. The central park is usually a meeting place where you will see Lenca women with their traditional colorful scarves over their heads

La Esperanza is actually made up of two different cities, Intibucá, the largest township was originally a Lenca community and hope that it became over time in a community "ladino". Unlike many other sister cities, which are separated by a river or stream, the line between these cities is a street crossing, but locals have trouble trying to determine if they are in Intibucá and Hope!.
The central park is really suited each other! There are two interesting colonial churches, one in each of the cities and each has its own mayor.
In addition, there is a monument located on a hill northeast of the city called the Sanctuary "The Grotto" where the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of intibucanos. To this place come to visit both local and visitors, where they can admire and appreciate the beautiful view of the twin cities and Intibuca Hope. The central park and the municipal market are often meeting places where it is very common to see women with traditional Lenca bandanas on their heads