Esquipulas | |
---|---|
Municipality and town | |
Coordinates: 14°34′N 89°21′W / 14.567°N 89.350°W | |
Country | Guatemala |
Department | Chiquimula Department |
Area | |
• Total | 191 sq mi (495 km2) |
Population (2018 census)[1] | |
• Total | 53,556 |
• Density | 280/sq mi (110/km2) |
Climate | Aw |
Esquipulas (Nahuatl: Isquitzuchil, "place where flowers abound"),[2] officially Municipality of Esquipulas, whose original name was Yzquipulas,[3] is a town, with a population of 18,667 (2018 census),[4] and a municipality located in the department of Chiquimula, in eastern Guatemala. Esquipulas' main attraction is the beautiful Black Christ located in the Basilica of Esquipulas, making the town an important place of Catholic pilgrimage for Central America. It is also one of the most important towns of the country and one that has had the most economic and cultural growth.[5]
In 2002, it was registered on UNESCO's tentative World Heritage list.[6]
The city is a tourist attraction due to its ecological and religious importance. It is the most visited city and town across eastern Guatemala and the second most visited in the country, surpassed only by the City of Guatemala, visited annually by approximately four to five million tourists and devout Catholics,[7][8][9] this due to its important and varied religious resorts and distributed in the 495 km2,[10] the smallest city visited by Pope John Paul II in 1996 which entitled him recognition as Capital Central to the Faith,[11] whose recognition is currently known as to this city, which was also visited by Teresa of Calcutta,[12] hosted the Esquipulas Peace Accords during the mid-1980s.[13] The Basilica of Esquipulas headquarters in Central Catholic Faith is the first wonder of Guatemala competition held by the Industrial Bank on November 26, 2008.[13]
In 1987 the Trifinio Biosphere Reserve was created to protect the unique flora and fauna in the region.
The territory comprises an area of 495 km2, distributed in 20 villages, 123 sub villages, one town and two villas which are Timushán and Chanmagua, with a total population of 53,556 (2018 census); with the town of Esquipulas having a population of 18,667 which represents 35% of the total population of the municipality. Esquipulas is located 222 kilometers from Guatemala City, 9.5 kilometers from the border with the Republic of Honduras and 45 kilometers from the city of Chiquimula, bordering the municipalities of Olopa, Jocotán and the department Camotán Chiquimula to the north and the municipality of Metapan, El Salvador to the south. To the east it meets the departments of Copán and Ocotepeque, Honduras and to the west, the municipality of Concepción Las Minas and the Resume Chiquimula department.