La Ceiba

Even from the early days ‘La Ceiba’ had attracted many visitors by its natural beauty. The name of the place is said to have derived from a huge ‘Ceiba tree’ that had grown with a striking beauty at the ‘Caribbean Sea shores’. Now at that place, you can see the main street and the first street coverage. The first settlers of the place were the slaves from the ‘Island of Saint Vincent’ and they are generally known as ‘Garifunas’. Even now it is popularly believed that, these ancient people considered the big ‘Ceiba tree’ as a ‘ladder’ through which ‘God’ came down from heaven to earth! In 1872, one ‘Mr. Manuel Hernandez’ built a hut under the big tree and soon after others pursued his steps, following the boom of the banana plantations. This banana business flourished and paved the way for the entrance of some big international companies to the place. With the settling of national migrants as well as foreigners, ‘La Ceiba’ began to grow. Slowly the place began to develop into a matured city with all modern amenities and the Caribbean architecture knitted perfectly together.

It was in August 23rd 1877 that ‘La Ceiba’ was declared as a city and soon it became the ‘banana emporium’ and flourished as a major center of regional economy. With this the city became the base of main industrial and financial companies of Honduras. Now ‘La Ceiba’, with an area of approximately 6,000 hectares and 170 suburbs has got a population of around 200,000 and has emerged as the second important port and the third main important city of Honduras. The city has got the highest literacy rate in Honduras and many of its residents are bilingual.

As recognition of its natural beauty, the Honduran Government has declared ‘La Ceiba’ as the ‘Capital of Ecotourism’. The peak of ‘Pico Bonito’, which is having an enormous height of 2,435 meters, is a main attraction of the place. Another important attraction is the ‘national park’. You can also witness spectacular waterfalls and beautiful landscapes. The sight of ‘Cangrejal River’ where you can enjoy ‘white water rafting’ and ‘canoeing’ will be really mind cooling and refreshing.

‘La Ceiba’ is famous throughout ‘Central America’ because of the festival of ‘Feria Isidra’ which is conducted during the last week of the month of May. This festival ends in a grand style, with the big carnival of ‘Gran Carnaval de la Amistad’, when the main street becomes the stage for dance and music! The local musical bands makes a merry time with colorful floats. You will definitely get a wonderful experience with this visit.