Honduras in Pictures: 19 Beautiful Places to Photograph

Beautiful Honduras is not on everyone's travel itinerary, but there is no question that the second largest country in Central America has some picture-perfect natural scenery that is longing to be photographed.

Honduras attractions range from Maya ruins in the jungle, volcanic lakes, and misty highlands where coffee grows to stunning offshore islands like Roatan in the Caribbean Sea that are home to the most beautiful turquoise water and white-sand beaches.

Honduras is full of beautiful places to capture striking pictures.

Roatán, Bay Islands

The largest of the Bay Islands in Honduras, Roatan is a popular holiday vacation spot in the Caribbean Sea, about 65 kilometers off Honduras' northern coast. It is known for its absolutely stunning white-sand beaches that meet picture-perfect turquoise seas. The coral reef just offshore makes for excellent diving and snorkeling here as well.

Santa Barbara National Park

Get off the beaten path and snap some fabulous photos, like the foggy sunset landscape featured here, in Santa Barbara National Park. This remote area in the highlands of Honduras is home to small villages of coffee growers, as well as the second-highest peak in Honduras, which is in the national park. You can hike to its summit.

Little French Key, Bay Islands

You can take a day trip to Little French Key from Roatan Island and just spend the day relaxing in hammocks like the ones pictured here. There is also excellent snorkeling just offshore from the white sugar-sand beach with chaise lounges. There is also a restaurant here. And you can take kayaks out into the turquoise sea as well.

Macaw Mountain

Macaw Mountain is a tropical bird sanctuary in a natural setting at the edge of Maya ruins, with parrots and other birds. The sanctuary gets good reviews for providing a home for rescued birds that could not survive in the wild. They also work to rehabilitate and release wild birds.

Oak Ridge, Roatan

Known as "the Venice of the Caribbean" for its many canals, the Oak Ridge community pictured here features colorful houses on stilts. It is located on the southern side of Roatan Island, which is located 65 kilometers offshore from Honduras' coast.

Camp Bay Beach, Roatan

On the east end of Roatan, remote Camp Bay Beach is absolutely stunning. It is a paradise of white-sand beach and multi-hued clear sea backed by lush vegetation, perfect for capturing beautiful images. The sea is flat and gets decent winds, making Camp Bay also a popular kiteboarding location.

Pico Bonito National Park

Walk across a rope suspension bridge over the Cangrejal River in the middle of the jungle in the Honduras rainforest national park of Pico Bonito. The bridge spans about 121 meters, and walking across it is not for those with a fear of heights.

Pulhapanzak Waterfall

Pulhapanzak Waterfall is the largest waterfall in Honduras. The natural wonder drops 42 meters and offers a number of vantage points for capturing impressive images. There is a cave behind the waterfall from which you can take pictures. You can also swim near the base.

Western Honduras Highlands

This mountainous region in Western Honduras is home to a number of coffee plantations, as well as colonial-era towns and lots of lush pine forest meets lush valley foliage. This region is also home to beautiful and remote Santa Barbara National Park.

West Bay Beach

West Bay Beach is a stunning white-sand-meets-clear-turquoise-sea beach on Roatan's northern coast. It is known for its sunsets, so make sure to bring your camera to snap some spectacular images. There are a number of lodging options around West Bay Beach as well.

San Pedro Sula

In the Sula Valley of northern Honduras, the city of San Pedro Sula, pictured above, is one of the main transportation hubs of Honduras. Just west of town, however, is Cusuco National Park, which has hiking trails through cloud forests and lots of wildlife.

Utila, Bay Islands

Utila is another of the Bay Islands, located off the northern coast of Honduras in the Caribbean Sea. Utila has excellent snorkeling and scuba diving off its shores. Bring a camera to snap pictures of reef fish swimming amid a landscape of sponges and coral of varying softness.

Naciones Unidas El Picacho

For fantastic panoramic views looking down on the city of Tegucigalpa, head to this small hilltop park. The park is also home to a giant statue of Christ that keeps watch over the city. You can hike or drive to the top of the park, and there are also hiking trails throughout the park, which is six kilometers outside the city center.

Copan Archaeological Site

In western Honduras, the Copan Archeological Site is considered a top source for information about the ancient Maya civilization that inhabited this land between the 6th and 8th centuries. This photo shows the Ball Court of the Maya ruins at Copan.

Sandy Bay Beach, Roatan

Head to a hammock on Sandy Bay Beach for a beautiful Honduran sunset. The beach is on the western side of Roatan Island, the largest of the Bay Islands, and is home to a number of resorts, as well as restaurants and activity options.

Lake Yojoa

Honduras' largest lake, Lake Yojoa, is another beautiful natural attraction to photograph. The lake sits inside a depression formed by volcanoes and is about 15 meters deep. It is a biodiverse area that is well worth a visit, and although it's still off the beaten path, it has amenities for tourists.

Cangrejal River

The Cangrejal River is one of Central America's prettiest rivers. It is famed for its turquoise hues, as seen in the above picture. It is also a popular rafting destination.

The river is located in La Ceiba municipality and runs through parts of Pico Bonito and Nombre de Dios National Parks. If you can snap an image at sunset, you'll get a fantastic juxtaposition of colors.

Carved Old Man Head Sculpture in Copan Ruins Archaeological Site

Located in the above mentioned Copan archaeological site in western Honduras, near the border with Guatemala, the sculpture pictured here dates back to the time of the Maya and is known as the "carved old man head."

The ancient Maya city was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1980. The carving is easy to photograph due to its position and the cool contrast of color behind it.

Whale Sharks in Utila

Swimming with whale sharks, gentle giants of the ocean, can be a highlight of a lifetime. While most parts of the world have whale shark seasons, in Utila these magnificent creatures, like the one swimming towards the camera here, can be seen all year.

Try to visit between June and September, when you'll have the best chance of seeing small groups instead of solitary whale sharks. The sharks are usually found in the deep waters near the island's northern tip.