San Manuel de Colohete

San Manuel de Colohete sits high in the Lempira mountains, and the reason to make the difficult drive is the church: a late seventeenth-century colonial building with a carved stone facade far more elaborate than anything else in the region, standing over a village of adobe houses and dirt streets. Inside are painted retables and images from the same period. The village is Lenca, the market days bring people in from the surrounding hills, and almost no visitors come.

History

The village's landmark is its late 17th-century Spanish church, with seven statues of saints in niches on its massive façade, an interior painted with original mud-based paint and a carved and gilded altar. Its name is said to mean "cradle of scorpions", its earlier inhabitants were the warriors of the Lenca chief Lempira, and in the census of 1887 it was a settlement of Concepción Colohete, before the municipality of San Manuel Colohete was created on 2 February 1901 (Wikipedia, San Manuel Colohete).

What to look for

• The church facade - carved stone work of the late seventeenth century, unusually rich for the region.
• The interior - painted retables and colonial images, opened on request.
• The village - adobe houses and dirt streets on a mountain shelf.
• The market days - Lenca families coming in from the surrounding hills.

When to go

November to April is the dry season and the only sensible window for the road. Market days are the liveliest. The altitude keeps it cool and it is cold at night.

Practical notes

The road from Gracias is rough and slow and requires a proper vehicle; in the rains it can be impassable. The church is usually locked and someone has to be found to open it. There is no accommodation in the village.

Nearby

Gracias is northeast, and Belen Gualcho is north along the range.

Key facts