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Road, El Salvador

The West

Santa Ana, El Salvador’s second most important city, lies in the beautiful Cihautehuacan valley surrounded by green peaks with slopes of Volcan Santa Ana rising to the southwest.

Gently decaying colonial streets and facades exude a certain bourgeois indifference. From Santa Ana visitors will find the archaeological sites of Joya de Ceren, San Andres and Tazumal.

Joya de Ceren was a pre-Hispanic farming community, buried under the eruption of the Laguna Caldera volcano in 600AD. The importance of this site today is the fine preservation of this adobe community and gives an insight into the lives of the Central American people of this time.

Volcanos of Cerro Verde National Park seen from Juayua, Sonsonate, El Salvador
Sonsonate, El Salvadaor

A little more about the west

Southwest of Santa Ana, lies the town of Sonsonate, in the highlands of El Salvador and the principle cattle, coffee and tobacco farming region. The peaks of Cerro Verde, Volcan Izalco, and the crater lake Lago Coatepeque provide striking backdrops and good hiking opportunities. Although Sonsonate is mainly a bustling commercial town, it is on the Ruta de las Flores, a drive through pretty countryside and colonial towns famous for crafts, night markets and festivals; the most interesting being Ataco. The route was named after the abundant white coffee flowers visible during May and the wild flowers that colour the hills and valleys from October to February. This area is also home to El Imposible National Park; some 31 square kilometres of varying climatic zones and 300 species of birds.

Highland Coffee Plantations, Santa Barbara National Park, Honduras
Highland Coffee Plantations, Santa Barbara National Park, Honduras

Highlights of El Salvador & Honduras

Our classic combination of the “half-an-hour country” El Salvador and neighbouring Honduras unveils the highlights of these often overlooked nations. From dining with an archaeologist to trail hiking Mayan islands, we can curate a fully-tailored trip bursting with extraordinary experiences.

16 days

from £3,105 pp

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Where to stay

Some of the wonderful places to stay that we frequently recommended.

Los Almendros de San Lorenzo £££££

  • El Salvador

Los Almendros is a charming French-owned colonial period property in the heart of the historical city of Suchitoto. This is a very traditional Spanish building with terraces, bar and lounge surrounding a leafy central courtyard.

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Los Trozos £££££

  • El Salvador

Tucked away in the highlands above the city of Sonsonate on a working coffee plantation is the family-run hotel, Los Trozos. The accommodation has been created in the old farmhouse building, where the original kitchen has been cleverly adapted to provide a beautiful living space.

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Meet our experts

A passion for travel runs right through every one of our experts - meaning they're always ready with first-hand insight about their specialist countries.

John Faithfull

If you’re looking to slip off the grid into some of Central America’s most spectacular scenery, John suggests heading for Parque Nacional El Impossible, named by coffee farmers who found it near impossible to transport their crop through the precipitous mountains.

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  • 01285 880 980

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We are so happy that we decided to take John’s advice and add on an El Salvador extension to our Honduras trip. We felt like we were the only ‘tourists’ in the whole country.

Destination: El Salvador
Travel Expert: John

Why Choose Steppes?

Our knowledge and expertise set us apart. So too our curiosity. It is this that drives us to create a journey that is really bespoke to you, all the while ensuring we travel and operate sustainably.

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