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 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.

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

A little more about the west

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.

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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