Central America’s hotspot – what is there to do in El Salvador?

Huts Joya de Cerén

Huts at Joya de Ceren (Photo: Rupert Parker)

If you’re coming to El Salvador to see Maya ruins, they can’t really compare to the sites in neighbouring Guatemala and Honduras, but what is unique is Joya de Cerén, called the Pompeii of Mesoamerica. This was a small Maya farming village, nestling in a fertile valley, until the nearby volcano of Loma Caldera erupted in 590CE. The inhabitants fled, leaving their houses and fields to be buried under as much as eight metres of volcanic ash.

A total of 18 structures have been identified and ten have been excavated. They include living quarters, storehouses, workshops, kitchens, and a communal sauna. The volcanic eruption was so sudden that everyday life was frozen in time. Maya artefacts used for cooking, for storage, even for drinking chocolate, were found where they were left. Several cultivated fields containing maize plants and fruit trees have also been uncovered.

Continuing beyond Joya de Cerén and the Cerro Verde National Park, the Ruta de las Flores winds through the hills in the north-west of the country, near the Guatemalan border.

Named for the abundant colourful wild flowers lining the road, it runs for around 20 miles, connecting a number of small villages set amid coffee plantations. It’s here that you’ll find some of El Salvador’s colonial past, with a whitewashed church dominating each village square, and red-tiled roofs on the houses along the cobbled streets.

Highlights include Nahuizalco with its market and wicker crafts, the pretty mountain town of Juayua, which is a venue for weekend food festivals, and the colonial gem of Ataco, with its unexpected display of brightly painted murals covering almost every wall.

The story goes that a hippie couple, after serving time in prison for drug offences, came here to start an art gallery and painted the outside of their shop. The locals liked it so much that soon the whole town was covered.

Suchitoto Church

Suchitoto Church (Photo: Rupert Parker)

But perhaps the most beautiful of all villages is Suchitoto, 30 miles north-east of the capital, despite this area seeing some of the bitterest fighting of the war as the army battled the guerrillas who made their base here.

The wreckage of a helicopter tail fin, incongruously sticking out of a hedgerow, is the only reminder though, and surprisingly the buildings were remarkably untouched.

The village is now making its name as a cultural centre, with a weekend artisan market and an annual festival of art and culture every February. There are boat excursions on nearby Lago Suchitlán and it’s one of the most laid-back spots in the whole of El Salvador, along with the chilled-out coast.

The first tourists to make it back into the country after the war were surfers, determined to take advantage of the phenomenal breaks. With a warm sea year-round plus black volcanic sand lending a stark beauty to the coastline, a visit is just as tempting if you don’t surf though.

I’m staying in the tiny coastal village of El Tunco, just outside La Libertad, which is moving gradually upmarket, replacing its hippy shacks with boutique hotels, while restaurants for all tastes cram the streets.

Surfing lessons take place every day on the beach but the sea is too daunting for me. Far better to sip a cocktail on the veranda and watch the adventurous souls battling the waves as the sun slips gently below the horizon.

Getting There

Return flights from London cost from around £500. There are no direct flight routes from the UK, but you can fly via Madrid with Iberia as well as with a variety of airlines travelling via the US, stopping in cities including Washington DC, Dallas and Miami.

For more information, visit elsalvador.travel

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Publish date : 2023-03-26 03:00:00

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