Honduras

Tegucigalpa is the capital of Honduras; together with neighboring Comayagüela it forms the Central District, where the national government sits. Perched in the mountains around 1,000 meters above sea level, it became the capital in 1880 and grew from a 16th-century silver-mining town into the country’s political and cultural center. To avoid mix-ups: San Pedro Sula is the northern industrial hub, La Ceiba is a Caribbean port and gateway to the Bay Islands, and Choluteca is a southern city near Nicaragua. Memory tip: “Tegu-see-GAL-pa” — think of a gala in the highlands, the capital on the hill.