Much of TEGUCIGALPA 's appeal is understated, with its main pleasure to be found in wandering the winding, narrow streets of the old centre, which meander haphazardly up the lower slopes of Cerro Picacho , the city's dramatic, mountainous backdrop. Along these streets, crumbling colonial buildings give way to gently decaying nineteenth-century mansions and modern, airy homes, each a watermark of the city's history. Even the constant cacophony, gridlock and pollution of the traffic-choked centre doesn't detract entirely from the charm, and the comings and goings of hordes of vendors, beggars, idlers and passers-by provide entertainment for free. More concrete attractions include several well-preserved colonial churches , in particular the eighteenth-century cathedral on the Plaza Morazán, a handful of national museum and art collections , and several small, well-patronized parks.

Yet just west of the old centre, the character of the city rapidly becomes more menacing as you approach the banks of the Río Choluteca. On October 29, 1998, ten-metre-high floods caused by Hurricane Mitch ripped through the river valley, tearing down buildings in a tide of devastation that killed around a thousand people. Today virtually nothing has changed since the floods - vast mud deposits and garbage clog the banks and hundreds of vultures circle overhead in some worst scenes of urban decay in Central America. Cross one of the bridges and you're in Comayagüela , always a poor barrio but now distinctly threatening after dark as poverty levels have increased following Mitch. Most visitors come here to visit sprawling market , or are simply passing through one of the city's bus terminals , which are dotted around Comayagüela's streets. Keep a very close eye on your possessions as you change buses.