The Athens of the New World
Copan marks the southeastern outpost of the Maya World. Leader among all Maya Cities in terms of quality Stone Sculpture, Copan represents the cultural apex of the Mayan civilization.

Day Tour Information:
Tour Leaves Roatan Airport at 6.15am returning 4.30pm Every Friday

Special Trip:
A special exclusive day trip is ran on the 26th December. Positions are limited so sign up early and include a visitor to Copan in your vacation in Roatan this year.

• Round Trip Airfare Roatan - Copan Ruins - Roatan
• Onboard Continental Breakfast and Copan Briefing
• First Class Transportation while in Copan
• Full English Guided Tour of the Copan Ruins and Museum of Sculpture
• Sightseeing and Shopping in Copan Town
• Gourmet Picnic Lunch, Beer and Soda

*Ancient Mayan Copan Ruins Day Tour*

$225 per person
Trip leaves Roatan Every Friday

Other Days Available on Request

Ancient Mayan Copan Ruins

The Ball Court was the social center of the Copan city. The Copan Ball Court is one of the most artistic ball courts in the Mayan World. It is unique due to the markers on the side walls which resemble macaw heads.

The Great Plaza is famous for its stelea and altars that are in the main plaza. Most of the steleas where erected during the times of the 13th ruler, known as 18 Rabbit between the years 711 and 736.

The Hieroglyphic Stairway is a unique temple which holds the longest known text by the ancient Maya civilization. It was erected by ruler number 15: Smoke-Shell and is believed to tell the lineage history of Copan. Unfortunately alot of the stairway can not be read because the steps had fallen out of place over time. Over many years archaeologists have attempted to reconstruct the temple, but have had no way of knowing where each step belonged.

The Acropolis is divided into two plazas: the west court which houses temple 11 and temple 16 and the unique altar Q. Temple 11 was built during the reign of Yax-Pac, and was his most important architectural contribution to Copan. This temple was built to be his portal to the other or next world. Altar Q recently has been completely "read" and depicts each 16 members of the Copan Dynasty, including Yax-Pac who is seated on his own glyph.

Temple 16 is set between the east and west court. This building is unique because for some reason, the previous standing temple was not ruined when it was built on top off but instead, a big effort was made to build on top of it without damaging the below structure. This older temple is the "Famous Rosa Lila Temple. Its important discovery has helped archaeologists understand how Copan actually looked centuries ago.

The Tunnels over the years many tunnels have been dug by archaeologists under the Copan Ruins to help study the under lying structures. In total you will find over 4 kms of tunnels under the Ruins. These tunnels have helped archaeologists learn about earlier stages of the Copan Ruins and as helped with discovery many important Mayan tombs. As of 2000 two of these tunnels have been open to the public but only on a limited basis.

The tunnels that are open are the Rosa Lila Tunnel and the Los Jaguar Tunnel. which is over 750 meters long and passes Gladness Tomb.

Las Sepulture Archaeological Site is located one mile from the Copan Ruins central acropolis and was a residential area. This site has been very important in understanding how the Mayan elite lived.

Museum of Mayan Sculpture is located in the Copan Ruins Grounds. The museum houses a series of original pieces of sculpture that have been taken from with in the Archaeology Site to better preserve them. A highlight of the Museum is the replica of the Rosa Lila Temple. The replica gives the visitor a clear vision of what the temples of Copan would of looked like over 1000 years ago, with their decorated facades and colorful decoration.