Ocotepeque is a municipality in the Honduran

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Ocotepeque Ocotepeque is a municipality in the Honduran department of Ocotepeque. The town of Nueva Ocotepeque is the municipal seat and the capital of the department. The department borders two countries, Guatemala and El Salvador and covers 1,630 ...

. The town of

Nueva Ocotepeque Nueva Ocotepeque, with a population of 13,940 (2020 calculation), is the capital of the Ocotepeque Department of Honduras. It is situated in the north-south valley of the Lempa River, north of the El Salvador border, and east of the Guatemal ...

is the municipal seat and the capital of the department. The department borders two countries,

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

and

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

and covers 1,630 km². It is mostly mountainous, and has a population of 111,474 (2006). Its main economic activities are agricultural, including coffee, corn,

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

, and

onions An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

. Due to its favourable location just a few kilometres away from the border with

at El Poy, as well as the border with

at Agua Caliente, Ocotepeque has the economic benefit of being a tri-country centre of business. It also attracts residents of smaller neighbouring towns, who come to Ocotepeque to purchase things or to study.

Location

Directly to the north are the municipalities of

Sinuapa Sinuapa is a municipality in the Honduran department of Ocotepeque. Demographics At the time of the 2013 Honduras census, Sinuapa municipality had a population of 8,735. Of these, 91.05% were Mestizo, 6.91% White, 1.10% Black or Afro-Hondura ...

and Concepción; to the south is El Salvador; to the east is Sinuapa; and to the west is the municipality of Santa Fe. About three hours by bus to the north is the larger city of

Santa Rosa de Copán Santa Rosa de Copán () is a municipality in Honduras. The city of Santa Rosa de Copán is the municipal seat and the departmental capital of the Honduran department of Copán. It is located approximately above mean sea level. Santa Rosa de ...

. The closest

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

in Honduras is located approximately 5–6 hours to the north in

San Pedro Sula San Pedro Sula () is the capital of Cortés Department, Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country in the Sula Valley, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea. With a population of 671,460 ...

Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa (, , ), formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( es, Tegucigalpa, Municipio del Distrito Central or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz'', is the capital and largest city ...

, where Honduras' other major airport is located, is 10–12 hours away by bus. Ocotepeque is also located about 3 hours from

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

, the capital of El Salvador, where another major

is located.

Areas of interest

The Trifinio Fraternidad Transboundary Biosphere Reserve is a nature preserve shared by Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Ocotepeque also boasts the Güisayote Biological Reserve, located about 35 minutes out of town. The city of

Esquipulas Esquipulas (Nahuatl: Isquitzuchil, "place where flowers abound"), officially Municipality of Esquipulas, whose original name was Yzquipulas, is a town, with a population of 18,667 (2018 census), and a municipality located in the department of Chi ...

, Guatemala is approximately 45 minutes from Ocotepeque and is home to one of the oldest churches in Central America, and what many consider to be the most sacred shrine in Central America. Ocotepeque has a few hotels, including the Hotel Internacional and Hotel Ocotepeque. Ocotepeque is accessible by several major bus lines from the major cities, including Sultana and Congolon. Many of these buses run a main route up the western border of the country, with San Pedro Sula and Ocotepeque as their first/last stops, and stop at many towns in between, including La Labor, La Union, Cucuyagua, Santa Rosa de Copán, and La Entrada.

History

* Ocotepeque was founded in 1530. In the first Political Territorial Division in 1825, it formed part of the territory of Santa Rosa in the department of Gracias. On 13 April 1843, it was given the title of "town", and in July 1870, it received the title of "city". It was then a municipality of Copán until February 1906. When the department was divided up in 1926, it became a district, formed by the municipalities of

, Concepción, and Santa Fe. * On 7 June 1934, the city was destroyed by massive flooding of the Marchala River, and it was decreed that Sinuapa would be the provisional capital of the district. After a year of reconstruction, the new town of

was founded and declared to be the head of the department. By 1958, just "Ocotepeque" was used to refer to the new city, and the original town became called "Antigua Ocotepeque". Today, the only things remaining from the pre-flood era in Antigua Ocotepeque are a church and a massive tree in the town centre. * In 1969, Ocotepeque and the mountains surrounding it became part of the battlegrounds for the four-day

Football War The Football War ( es, La guerra del fútbol; colloquial: Soccer War), also known as the Hundred Hours' War or 100 Hour War, was a brief military conflict fought between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969. Existing tensions between the two countr ...

between

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

and

, which began over land rights disputes and was supposedly sparked by a tense soccer game between the two countries.

Demographics

At the time of the 2013 Honduras census, Ocotepeque municipality had a population of 23,096. Of these, 90.25% were

Mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...

, 6.46%

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

(5.88% Chʼortiʼ), 3.00%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.28% Black or Afro-Honduran and 0.01% others.

Education

Ocotepeque has a great number of public school and has been selected as the best public education in the whole country. Ocotepeque has a number of public schools as well as two private bilingual schools, Instituto San Francisco de Así

and My Little Red House Bilingual Schoo

My Little Red House accept volunteers year and month-round to teach English as part of their English core program to develop and improve the education.

Famous Residents

Ramón Villeda Morales José Ramón Adolfo Villeda Morales (November 26, 1909 – October 8, 1971) served as President of Honduras from 1957 to 1963. He was also known by the nickname, "Pajarito". Biography Trained as a physician, his specialty was pediatrics ...

(President of

from 1957 to 1963) was born in Ocotepeque on 26 November 1908. *

Javier Monthiel Jose Javier Pérez Ramirez (born April 11, 1967), better known by his stage name Javier Monthiel, is a Honduran singer and composer and one of the most outstanding artists in the country. Among his original works are ''Así es mi tierra'', ''Muje ...

(singer and composer from 1990–present) was born in Ocotepeque on April 11, 1967; his compositions include the popular songs ''Así es mi tierra'', ''Mujeres Latinas'', ''Amiga'' and ''Más allá del Corazón''.

References

{{Coord, 14, 26, N, 89, 11, W, region:HN_type:city, display=title Municipalities of the Ocotepeque Department