La Campa

La Campa sits in a gorge below Gracias with a colonial church on a terrace above the houses, and it is the centre of Lenca pottery: coil-built vessels in white slip with black or brown designs, made by women in home workshops and fired in open kilns rather than on a wheel. Several workshops take visitors through the process, from clay to firing. The village is small, steep and green, with waterfalls in the gorge below.

What you actually see

• The pottery workshops - coil-built Lenca ware made and decorated by hand.
• The open firing - vessels fired in ground kilns rather than in a closed furnace.
• The colonial church - San Matias on its terrace above the village.
• The gorge - the valley below the village with falls and pools.

When to go

November to April is the driest and easiest for the road. Workshops run on weekdays. The village is cool and can be misty in the afternoons.

Honest expectations

The road down from Gracias is steep and narrow. Workshops are family homes and visits are informal; buying is the fair exchange. The village has very little in the way of facilities.

Nearby

Gracias and Celaque National Park are north, and San Manuel de Colohete is southwest.