Honduras and the Bay Islands

Book excerpt: This comprehensive, easy-to-use Adventure Guide opens the door to our unique country for the independent traveler. -- Honduran Institute of Tourism. This guidebook by Maria Fiallos is the best coverage of Honduras available. All the dive sites, all the restaurants, and all the hotels from budget to luxury. The author is a real expert, and the information is fresh and complete. -- Melanie, Amazon reviewer. A great new resource --Travel + Leisure. Bursting with relevant and exciting information... -- Booklist. These useful travel guides are highly recommended... -- Library Journal. Pristine coral reefs, tropical waters, rainforests, and rivers meandering through jungles wait to be explored. Parks cover 24% of the country's area, where jaguars and giant anteaters reside. Coastal wetlands are home to monkeys, manatees, alligators and waterfowl. The north or Caribbean coast has mile upon mile of white sand beaches and lush tropical vegetation. Just 30 miles offshore are the Bay Islands, famous for first-class diving on the second-largest barrier reef in the world. The ancient Maya ruins of Copan, a famed archaeological World Heritage Site, guard the secrets of the ancestors of the modern Mesoamerican men whose faces closely resemble those carved in stelae. The hieroglyphic stairway in Copan is the largest in the Maya world. Weekly open-air markets offer ripe mangos, oranges, bananas, avocados and tomatoes, adding charm and color to the country villages, where most people reside in whitewashed adobe houses with red tile roofs. This guide, by a lifelong resident, tells you everything about the history, the culture, the foods, how to get around, the recommended places to stay and eat, plus the activities and adventures, from cooking classes to monkey-spotting in the cloud forests. Honduras is just south of Belize and Guatemala, north of Costa Rica and Panama. Our guides on each of those countries have been strong sellers. WHY VISIT HONDURAS? Great diving on the second-largest barrier reef in the world. The Maya ruins of Copan, a UNESCO World Heritage site. 112 protected areas, parks and reserves. River rafting, kayaking, hiking, biking, horseback riding in the midst of exuberant tropical nature. The most protected cloud forests in the world, with 35 reserves. The Ro Platano Reserve of Man Biosphere, a UNESCO World Heritage site. La Moskitia, the largest rainforest region in Central America. Print edition is 500 pages.