Gracias is a small Honduran town/municipality that was founded in 1536, and has a population of approximately 25,000 people (12,000 in the urban center). It is found in the mountainous centre of western Honduras, in the Lempira departamento. Events February 2 - Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina. ... Lempira is one of the 18 departments (departamentos) into which the Central American nation of Honduras is divided. ...

Elevation ranges from roughly 800 meters at the town square to 2,849 meters at the peak of Montaña Celaque (Celaque Mountain). Climate is greatly influenced by elevation, with the low-lying portions having a wet-dry (monsoonal) pattern. Montaña Celaque is the highest mountain and largest cloud forest in Honduras, and is protected through Celaque Mountain National Park. The cloud forest of Monteverde , Costa Rica A cloud forest is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane forest characterized by a high incidence of low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. ...

Gracias serves as a transportation hub for the immediate region. The town is connected to the northern city of Santa Rosa de Copan by a paved 2 lane highway, and construction of a paved 2 lane highway to La Esperanza has been underway for several years. Completion of this road will greatly reduce travel time to Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. Tegucigalpa, population 1,682,725 (2006) (metro area), is the capital of Honduras and the republics largest city. ...

Agriculture is both subsistence and export based (primarily coffee). Agricultural crops vary with elevation and climate, with corn and beans grown at lower altitudes and fruits/vegetables grown at higher altitudes. Coffee harvest occurs in November and December. Coffee in beverage form Coffee is a beverage, served hot or with ice, prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant. ...

The development of a tourist economy is seen as a driver of economic development. This tourism is based on the town's historic and natural attractions including Celaque Mountain and hot springs (aguas termales). Green Dragon Spring at Norris Geyser A hot spring is a place where warm or hot groundwater issues from the ground on a regular basis for at least a predictable part of the year, and is significantly above the ambient ground temperature (which is usually around 55~57°F or...