San Pedro Sula, Honduras

San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San-pedro-sula.jpg
Author: Gerardo Valdez


San Pedro Sula is the second largest city in Honduras. It is located in Valle de Sula or Sula Valley, on the northwestern part of the country, about 60 km from the port city of Puerto Cortés. San Pedro Sula covers 840 sq km (324.3 sq mi) and has a population of 1.25 million people (2011 estimate), within a metropolitan area of 1.5 million people.

Being the main city in the largest metropolitan area in Honduras, San Pedro Sula is the industrial hub of Honduras. The city generates some two-thirds of the GDP of the country, producing everything from coffee to beef.

San Pedro Sula experiences a tropical savanna climate. Temperature is quite uniform across the year, though it gets hotter from May until July, when the average high touches 33°C (91°F). January is the coolest month, when the average low can drop to 20°C (68°C). Rain is heaviest in June and again in September to October, each averaging 160 mm (6.3 in).

San Pedro Sula was founded by Pedro de Alvarado in 1536 and was originally called Villa de San Pedro de Puerto Caballos. It began as a government mint where gold mined in the surrounding valleys were brought here and made into coins.

San Pedro Sula Cathedral
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Pedro_Sula_Cathedral.jpg
Author: Micah MacAllen


The town received a tremendous boost in the 19th century when the ralway line was built connecting it with Puerto Cortés. It was intended to be a railway that crosses from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, but it never went further then San Pedro Sula. The arrival of the train service helped develope the area for agriculture, and the surrounding region became a major producer of bananas and other fruits.

The growth of San Pedro Sula has been quite fast. It was granted city status in 1902, when its population was just around 10,000. By the 1920's it had grown to 100,000, and today over a million people.

Visiting San Pedro Sula

San Pedro Sula's Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport (SAP) is the busiest airport in Honduras, as many passengers prefer to fly here than directly to the capital, Tegucigalpa. It is also the main gateway for tourists entering Honduras, due to its proximity to the Mayan ruins of Copán and the beaches of Roatán and Tela. The San Pedro Sula airport receives flights from Tegucigalpa as well as Atlanta, Belize City, Fort Lauderdale, Guatemala City, Havana, Houston, La Ceiba, Mexico City, Miami, Newark, New York-JFK, Panama City, Roatán, San José de Costa Rica and San Salvador, among others.

Places of Interest in San Pedro Sula

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