Amazing Copan Ruinas

Copan Ruinas is ten minutes from Mayan ruins that many people believe are the key link to understanding and studying the Mayan Civilization. The ruins of Copan are the most well preserved Mayan ruins in the world and touring this ancient site was a highlight of my time in Honduras. There were around sixteen Mayan dynasties at this site and each successive king that rose to power built his temples and palaces on top of the previous king’s symbolic edifices. The roots of 300 to 400 year old Ceiba trees have caused some collapsing of rooftops and walls within the Mayan site but previous temples and ceremonial sites remain nearly perfectly intact and ordained as they are protected because of their location underground or under other structures. There are archeologists from around the world here: Mexico, Japan, the United States of America, Europe, and of course Honduras. National Geographic has done extensive research here and has documented much of their findings in the magazine. There were so many impressive facets of our tour and our guide, Cesar, a local we had hung out with a few times, was a wonderful guide. Cesar speaks English but did the entire tour in Spanish and I was able to keep up and understand almost everything! A beautiful part of the Mayan culture was the spiritual connection they had with nature and the respect they showed for the animal spirit. Many of their statues carved from stone depict the Guacamaya bird, the jaguar, snakes, bats, and other creatures they deemed important and which they shared their world with. The structures are made of carved stone and in some places the stones fit perfectly and one wonders how it was possible to accomplish this. Further, the stones were hauled from long distances and the feat is hard to comprehend. My favorite part of the tour was the symbolism that is depicted in every facet of the Mayan city. Everything had an order including where people lived. The Mayans believed that there were leaders who were semi-gods and who existed not only in the physical world but also the celestial world. These individuals were royalty and lived in the palaces near the epicenter of the city. In total, it is estimated that 30,000 to 40,000 Mayans lived on or around this site. We visited the tomb of the last Mayan leader here and witnessed sites where human sacrifices were carried out. The Mayans played a unique sport in which players would attempt to shoot a ball with any part of their body outside of their arms and hands into a goal shaped as the head of a bird. The players would vie for the holy position of “the best player” and this chosen one would gladly accept the King’s invitation of a self sacrifice to the gods. Talk about faith and loyalty! Further, we viewed a huge open area where the city would gather to watch the sport mentioned earlier or where events would take place. We stood where the King and his followers would sit to watch the events. It was an eerie feeling to be where past and powerful souls stood and lived. We also laid witness to the statues that depict different epochs within the city. They are a beautiful mix of symbols with deep meaning of the history, culture, and spiritualism within that certain reign. These are some of the most well preserved ruins in the world. Also, we saw what can be described as a huge staircase of carved stone. At one time, this huge staircase contained the entire history of this Mayan city and it is still possible for archeologists to decipher much of what remains or has not been moved. To this day, archeologists see this place as sacred and tunnels are built under the city for these people to continue to study this amazing culture. Another amazing thing about the Mayans is how advanced they were in terms of math, architecture (blueprints that would compete with modern blueprints today have been discovered), astrology, and their knowledge of the earth. To think that they were wiped out “in the name of God” is rather depressing. Also, the Spanish burned many of the ancient texts and laid waste to evidence of this beautiful culture. I have added pictures to depict how beautiful this place is. There are still colors that show up from picture to picture. One should see this place if ever receiving the opportunity.