Maya Heritage

The United States has awarded $245,000 from the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation to the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History to restore the Hieroglyphic Stairway at Copán, one of the Americas' longest stone-carved texts and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Copán archaeological site is beginning a three-dimensional satellite mapping project using LiDAR technology across its 25-square-kilometer area to update surveys conducted 50 years ago and search for previously undiscovered structures.

Honduras inaugurated a cultural commemoration in Copán Ruinas marking 1,600 years since the founding of the Maya dynasty by K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo', with Japan agreeing to fund a new visitor center at the UNESCO World Heritage site.

Business leaders in Copán Ruinas submitted a five-year tourism agenda to the government on August 5 that outlines infrastructure, workforce training, and border-crossing improvements to boost the region's competitiveness and economic activity around the Maya archaeological park.

The US Embassy announced a $245,000 cultural-preservation grant to restore Copán's original staircase and create a 3D museum replica, among other initiatives, in collaboration with Honduras's anthropology institute.