{"id":4066,"date":"2017-12-15T10:50:16","date_gmt":"2017-12-15T16:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitcentroamerica.com\/visitar\/quirigua-archaeological-park\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T05:28:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T11:28:30","slug":"quirigua-archaeological-park","status":"publish","type":"pit","link":"https:\/\/www.visitcentroamerica.com\/en\/visit\/quirigua-archaeological-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Quirigu\u00e1 Archaeological Park"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Quirigu\u00e1<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Quirigu\u00e1<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Quirigu\u00e1<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Quirigu\u00e1<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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The park is located on the west bank of the\u00a0Motagua River or Rio Grande<\/strong>, which was an important route of communication route for the\u00a0Maya<\/strong>.\u00a0Quirigu\u00e1<\/strong>, along with the city of\u00a0Cop\u00e1n<\/strong>\u00a0in\u00a0Honduras<\/strong>, are located in the southeastern border of the Maya lowlands. The park is home to the ancient\u00a0Mayan city of Quirigu\u00e1<\/strong>, which is mainly characterized by its majestic stelae, the largest and best preserved of the\u00a0Mayan World<\/strong>.<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Originally, Quirigu\u00e1 was under the rule of the dynasty of the\u00a0city of Cop\u00e1n<\/strong>\u00a0(now Honduras), but in 738 A.D., the Quirigu\u00e1 dynasty managed to become independent and even subjugate the Cop\u00e1n dynasty, and that is when the city reached its peak. Most of the monumental constructions and the\u00a0Acropolis<\/strong>, as well as the stelae, were erected during the following 60 years of reign of the new Quirigu\u00e1 dynasty, a dynasty that dominated the region of the\u00a0Cop\u00e1n River\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0the Motagua River<\/strong>. In this historical context Estela E is carved, which, with 10 meters of height and 55 tons of weight, constitutes the largest sculpture of all those located in the\u00a0Great Plaza<\/strong>, a ceremonial space where you can appreciate the exceptional collection of sculptural monuments of the park. The monuments include zoomorphic altars of exceptional artistic quality, which is why it was declared in 1981 a\u00a0World Heritage Site<\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0UNESCO<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The 34-hectare\u00a0Archaeological Park<\/strong>\u00a0covers an important remnant of tropical rainforest, which makes it a last refuge for wild species native to the area. It was declared a\u00a0National Monument<\/strong>\u00a0in 1970, and a Park in 1974.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

GEOPOSITION<\/span><\/h2><\/div>