Puente Travel Guide

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Near the river was a residential complex, or perhaps a bathing complex, I'm not sure. It was quite near what could have been a ball field. The soil near the river was very marshy and unstable, and I was amazed at how well these buildings remained for so long. Later, I took images of my wife atop a temple, and a friend below.

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The age of the El Puente makes it contemporary with Copan, with most architecture dating to about 800 AD. This may have been a vassal state that paid tribute to Copan. The foundations of these temples were generally remarkable, although there seemed to be a slight settling problem. Some ruins appeared to be sinking in the middle into the soft soil near the river.

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The entrance was forested by soon El Puente Grupo Principal opens up to a clipped lawn bordered by rounded hills of unexcavated ruins. In the center were the rebuilt ruins standing in the sun. The expansive views that appear to be aerial photographs are in fact taken from the top of the temple structures. These had very steep sides that were challenging to climb.

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Outside the Museum, at the entrance to El Puente there are some covered excavations, and then there's a lonely road leading to Grupo Principal. You can drive there if you like, but we preferred to walk. We found pastureland with cattle and a large wasp nest.

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The museum is not large, but well organized into pre-classical and classical Mayan artifacts. Some of those classic artifacts were pottery made in Mexico, which confirms that the Mayan of this region had an extensive trade with similar cultures very far away. At the time of our visit, we were the only visitors at either the museum or the ruins.