San Antonio de Oriente in Honduras, a beautiful town

This time I would like to tell you about a little town in Honduras, which is very famous, and do you know why this town is famous for?. Well, let me tell you why. This little town which is located inside the mountains, not very far from Tegucigalpa, is known because it was the inspiration for a very famous Honduran painter, this artist was Jose Antonio Velasquez, who painted some of the most beautiful primitive paintings known worldwide. He has been recognized to be one of the best primitive painters in the world. Velasquez lived from 1906 to 1983, he was born in this little town, San Antonio de Oriente. Many of his paintings were inspired by the landscapes in his native town. If you ever take a look at some of his paintings, you will agree with me that his work is really great. You can see in many of his paintings landscapes of a beautiful town inside the mountains. Well, that town is San Antonio de Oriente.

I was there a few days ago, and I would like to share with you some interesting things when you do this trip. San Antonio de Oriente is located about 25 miles east of Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras. You have to take the main Tegucigalpa exit to the East, going to the Valley of El Zamorano, which is a very famous location in Honduras, is known because of the Panamerican Agricultural School of El Zamorano, a very prestigious international institution for education of agronomist professionals who come to study from many countries in America.

Well, if you want to go to San Antonio de Oriente, you have to go to El Zamorano valley. When you get there, take a left turn going into a little town with the name of El Jicarito. About 3 miles and just before getting to El Jicarito, take a turn right, there is a road that will take you to San Antonio de Oriente, not very far from there, it´s only about 3-4 miles. Be advised that it is not a paved road, it is an unpaved road, not very wide, it goes up into the mountains nearby, a lot of curves going up all the way to our destination, San Antonio de Oriente. It´s a good idea to drive in a 4 x 4 car so you won´t have any problems getting there.

All the way until you get there is really beautiful, you drive inside the mountains and can take a look at some great landscapes looking down to the valley, and looking up to the mountains that surround the road, a lot of pine trees.

Finally, you will get to San Antonio de Oriente. If you've ever seen some of Velasquez paintings, you will be very surprised that you will see in this town the live inspiration of these paintings, you will be admiring a real live image of these famous landscapes. When you walk on those cobble streets going to the Church inside the town, you really feel like you are one of the characters in Velasquez paintings…..Wow, it´s incredible.

The town is located just inside the mountains, it is mixed into the trees and the base of the mountains. This is really one of the most beautiful landscapes you could ever see in Central America if you like colonial towns and beautiful natural landscapes. When you get there, it is a good idea to park your car and take a walk all over the town. If you can go up walking into the nearby hills, you will be able to see some of the most amazing views when you look down the town, the church, the streets…………really beautiful.

Not many people use to go there, I really don´t know why. Maybe because it requires some effort to make this trip. It is not in the way to any other place, if you want to go there, you have to decide go there and just go. It's like you have to say, let´s go to San Antonio de Oriente, and you just go. It is a very interesting experience.

Related articles
Would you like to go to Santa Lucia in Honduras?