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 you can explore the archaeological sites of Joya de Ceren, San Andres and Tazumal.
El Salvador does not have the Mayan ruins of its neighbours Guatemala and Honduras, but it does have Joya de Cerén, the Pompeii of Mesoamerica. Joya was a small Mayan farming village, nestling in a fertile valley near the volcano of Loma Caldera. One evening in the last two weeks of August in 650AD the volcano erupted. The volcanic eruption was so sudden that everyday Mayan life was buried under eight metres of volcanic ash and frozen in time – hence the accuracy of the dating of the event: the pots had not yet been washed up.
The peaks of Cerro Verde, Volcan Izalco, and the crater lake Lago Coatepeque provide striking backdrops and good hiking opportunities. The Ruta de las Flores is 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.
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.
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.
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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