The main reason for going to Quiriguá is usually to see the Quiriguá ruins, located about a mile and a half south of town.  This was United Fruit Company territory and today it is still a center for banana export.

The Quiriguá ruins contain the tallest stelae in the Mayan world.  One is over 26 feet tall.  The nine stelae at Quiriguá are very intricate and quite advanced, compared to those at Tikal.  They are carved with portraits of Quiriguá's rulers and important events in the Mayan world.

Quiriguá is also know for its  blocks of stone carved into various fantastic creatures.  These are quite interesting and beautiful.

Quiriguá is thought to have been a satellite of the city of Copán.  During the 8th Century A.D., Quiriguá sought it's independence from Copán and eventually was successful.  As a sign of their independence, the leader of Quiriguá, Cauac Sky, began to construct the famous stelae.   

The last date carved at Quiriguá is 810 and the city was thought to have died out shortly after that.  The ruins were then discovered, in the 19th Century, by  the explorer John Lloyd Stevens.  The United Fruit Company maintained the site as it was being excavated.  Today it is a national park.

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