Choluteca

Choluteca sits on the hot Pacific plain near the Nicaraguan border, founded in the sixteenth century and holding a colonial core of low buildings around a large square with a cathedral. The city is best known outside Honduras for the Choluteca bridge, built to withstand hurricanes and which duly survived Mitch in 1998 while the river beneath it changed course entirely, leaving the bridge standing over dry ground. A new channel has since been managed but the story stuck.

What to look for

• The colonial centre - a large plaza with the cathedral and low colonial buildings.
• The Choluteca bridge - the structure that outlasted the river it was built over in 1998.
• The market - a large working market serving the southern plain.
• The plain - hot lowland country running to the Gulf of Fonseca.

When to go

November to February is the coolest part of a hot year. March to May is punishing on the southern plain. The rains from May bring relief and humidity together.

Things to know

The heat here is the defining fact and it makes daytime walking hard work. The colonial centre is modest and an hour or two covers it. The bridge story is often told as though the bridge is still stranded, which it is not.

Nearby

The Gulf of Fonseca and Amapala are southwest, and the Nicaraguan border is southeast.