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It's an easy ninety-minute bus ride 45km northwest from Gracias to SANTA ROSA DE COPAN , a wonderfully preserved, cobbled colonial relic built on the proceeds of the tobacco industry. Tourists are relatively few, mainly because the view across the Rio Chamelicon valley is about all there is to see here. Nevertheless, Santa Rosa's location, along the main north-south transport route, usually makes a stop here inevitable. Santa Rosa was once home to the Crown Tobacco Office, which regulated the cultivation of the crop, set official prices and handled sales, and today the golden weed is still central to the local economy. These days the old Tobacco Office in the centre of town houses offices belonging to the Flor de Copan Cigar Company . The building also used to house a cigar factory until a few years ago when it moved to new premises (open Mon-Fri 7am-noon & 1-5pm, Sat 7am-noon) 2km northwest of the town centre, next to the bus station. Around 30,000 hand-rolled cigars are produced daily, mostly for export. You can observe the process on a free tour (Spanish only) or simply by glancing through the windows of the rolling room, which face the street. Boxes of cigars can be bought at the small on-site shop at bargain prices. At the centre of town is the delightful, shady Parque Contreras , with the cathedral on its eastern side. Calle Centenario , lined with shops and restaurants, runs along the southern edge of the Parque, past the old cigar factory a couple of blocks to the west and the market a couple of blocks east.
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