The capital of Honduras is a busy, noisy city nestled in a valley at an altitude of nearly 1000m/3280ft. It has a fresh and pleasant climate, and is surrounded by pine-covered mountains. Called "Tegus" by locals, the city was bestowed with the name 'silver hill' when the Spanish founded the city as a mining center in 1578. Picturesque Tegus with
close to a million inhabitants has homelessness and pollution but offers gourmet restaurants and colorful fruit stands. Its interest in tourism and security make it one of the safer big cities in Central America.