Central America is a great travel region. With its combination of rich
history and incomparable scenic views, Central America will surely charm any
tourist that chooses its destinations.
Guatemala starts off the list of travel hot spots in Central America. The
Maya ruins in Tikal, Guatemala surely contributes to this country's growing
tourism industry. Considered as one of the world's largest Maya ceremonial
centers, the Tikal Maya ruins are the site for many excavation and
archaeological finds that would captivate any traveler to Central America. It is
believed to have been housing a population of 50,000 people until it was
abandoned by the Mayans for unknown reasons, sometime in the 10th century. The
sites feature a number of temple pyramids which are elaborately built and
designed. Additional impressive Mayan ceremonial sites can be found in Uaxactún,
Quiriguá, and Mirador. Colorful Mayan fabrics can be purchased as souvenirs.
Costa Rica is another travel location in Central
America that no one should miss. Rich in culture, Costa Ricans often celebrate
festivals in honor of their patron saints. These are events that any travelers
to Central America should put in their must attend list. Travelers in Central
America will have to practice a lot of hiking as one-third of the land is
covered by forest. One of the forests open to tourists is the Braulio Carillo
National Park. The Velvetworm is another point of amazement in Costa Rica and a
scientific wonder that will spark the interest in all travelers in Central
America. Found in the country's spacious rain forests, it has the
characteristics of both the joint-legged animals and the segmented worms.
The Panama Canal is another renowned Central America travel
destinations. Joining the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans and connecting the
Caribbean Sea with Pacific, the canal measures about 82 kilometers long. The
project was started by the French but was later abandoned. The US government
resumed the project when it gained construction rights in 1903. The canal opened
for traffic in 1914 and it was only in 1999 that Panama gained sovereignty over
the canal. In addition to Panama City, Panama's largest centers are Colón,
David, Santiago, Penonomé, and Chitré.
El Salvador also has a lot to offer the Central America traveler. Its prime
destination is San Salvador, its capital, which is marked with a rich culture
and architectural flair. Largely destroyed by earthquakes, scenic parks, modern
buildings, and plazas have now been erected in place. El Salvador is also home
to the Santa Ana Volcano, which is the highest peek in the country.
Honduras, another Central America country, is the home of great beaches and
resorts. Like Guatemala, it also has its Mayan ruins located in the northwestern
part of the country. Copan, another ceremonial center of this ancient
civilization, is one of the unparalleled archaeological sites in this part of
the world. People in Honduras are also quite artistic and one of the famed
locations that travelers in Central America should visit
is the School of Fine Arts in Comayagua.
Definitely not the last on the list while traveling in Central
America is Nicaragua, whose favored travel location
would be the Mosquito Coast. The inland areas of the coast are covered with rain
forests. The area, in fact, receives the highest precipitation of all in the
region.
