Editor’s note: I love Central America and have visited five of its seven nations. El Salvador is one of the two I have not yet seen, mainly due to its reputation as being unsafe. (Honduras is the other.) I am glad to read through Sam Spector’s experiences that this is changing, and the time may be to add this small Latin American country to my travel list. For more of Sam’s adventures, click here to visit his index page.
In 2015, I went to Guatemala; I was drawn to it in particular by the natural beauty, the indigenous culture, and the Mayan ruins of Tikal. As a Spanish speaker, I am always excited to visit Latin America and I had wanted to visit every country in Central America; except El Salvador was the only one that had not been on my list. From what I had heard, there was nothing too notable in the only Central American country that does not touch the Caribbean, and, alongside its neighbor Honduras, had the highest homicide rate in the world for any non-war country. While I was able to fly directly to Guatemala, in flying back, I had a layover in the El Salvadoran capital of San Salvador. As the plane flew in, I looked out the window and was blown away by what I saw: incredible, perfectly coned volcanos, lush greenery, and beautiful Pacific Coast beaches. I realized that I needed to look more into El Salvador.
In many different settings where I had worked, I worked alongside El Salvadoran immigrants, who not only were exceptionally kind, but spoke proudly of their country. In the past couple of years, El Salvador’s homicide rate went from among the highest in the world to the lowest in Central America, dropping steadily from 103 murders for every 100,000 people in 2015 to 7.8 per every 100,000 in 2022, the exact same as the United States according to the CDC. However, the reasons for this incredible drop are a bit disturbing; after 2015, the El Salvadoran government was paying gangs as an incentive for them to lower their homicide rates. In 2019, El Salvador elected the young, charismatic Nayib Bukele as their president. In 2022, Bukele rounded up all suspected criminals and gang members and imprisoned them, 66,000 people, many without charges. Arrested individuals would have to wait months before having any legal representation. In response to critics calling Bukele a dictator, he on social media proclaimed himself to be “the world’s coolest dictator.” Critics also say that the 90% reported approval rate of Bukele and the low homicide numbers are farces, and that often homicides go unreported. However, after having read and heard how El Salvador had reduced their crime rate so significantly, I decided that it would be a great place to go for a 5-day vacation with my family, and I have to say, I felt completely safe the entire time that I was there.
Upon arrival in El Salvador, I rented a car and made my way north. A couple hours in, I stopped at the Mayan ruins of Joya de Ceren. While I have been to the spectacular ruins of Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Tikal, and others that showed how the Mayan elite and royalty lived, Joya de Ceren is significant for how insignificant the ruins appear. While most Mayan attractions focus on the elite class of the Mayans, Joya de Ceren shows a rare example of an everyday home and small town for the working-class Maya. However, nearby are two other Mayan sites that do show temples, much smaller than the ones I mentioned from Guatemala and Mexico, but still impressive to see, called San Andres and Tazumal, the latter being far more uncovered and larger.
Close to these sites is El Salvador’s second largest city, Santa Ana. A simple, but nice city that many backpackers make their hub for jumping off and doing adventures, Santa Ana does not have too many attractions except in the main square of the town where the theater and the cathedral are; both are impressive renaissance-looking buildings that you can do tours of. The neogothic cathedral with its white façade looks like a Central American version of the incredible Milan Cathedral in Italy.
Not far from Santa Ana is one of the main attractions that led me to visit El Salvador, Lake Coatepeque. While the lake is not particularly large, being 4.3 miles in length and 6.2 miles in width, it is a beautiful crater lake that was formed from a volcanic eruption roughly 60,000 years ago and filled with rainwater. As a result, like many other crater lakes, it has a depth of over 8,500 feet. Like Crater Lake in Oregon and others, this lake is absolutely stunning, is surrounded by hotels and Airbnbs, and has great restaurants on the water itself or on the cliffside with incredible panoramic views. The lake sits at the foot of two different national parks, Cerro Verde and Los Volcanes National Parks.
At Cerro Verde, you will be treated to great views upon arrival of the perfectly coned Izalco volcano and crater, which looks exactly like the volcanoes I would make as a child out of dough and pour vinegar and baking soda into; it is what people picture when they think “volcano.” At Cerro Verde, a guide will lead people on a very easy (my two year old did it) 1.3 kilometer loop hike that is mostly downhill, and explain in Spanish about the different plants and the history of the area. On this hike, you will have incredible views of the Santa Ana Volcano (which they do guided hikes of that take about 2.5 hours each way) and Lake Coatepeque.
While Lake Coatepeque is to the east of the Cerro Verde National Park, to its west is perhaps the greatest attraction of El Salvador, the Ruta de las Flores. The Ruta de las Flores is a road that winds past forests, volcanoes, and many flowers as the name implies, and goes from one charming town to the next. I highly recommend going on the weekend as two towns have weekend festivals and markets worth checking out: Nahuizalco with its handicrafts market (mostly typical souvenir knickknacks) and Juayua with its food festival featuring numerous local delicacies. These towns also have waterfalls near them where you can go for a refreshing swim. However, the best town on the Ruta de las Flores is Concepcion de Ataco, which many consider to be the most charming town in the country. Set at the foot of the mountain, with cobblestone streets and brightly painted buildings, this town looks as though it is out of a postcard from what one would imagine old Central America to be. Near Concepcion de Ataco are many geothermal pools from all the volcanic activity in the area; head to the Santa Teresa Spa to try several of them out.
While we encountered almost no international tourists in El Salvador, the one town where they were plentiful was the beach town of El Tunco, a surfer and backpacker favorite. While the beach in this town is not the most ideal for sunbathing (others along the coast are), it has in addition to great surfing a wonderful laidback vibe. Walking down one of two streets that make up the town, you will see many great smoothie stands and restaurants. El Tunco has the feeling of one of the beach/surfer towns of Southeast Asia without the seediness, and is a great place to go relax or be a digital nomad.
Finally, make sure you spend at least a day in the capital of San Salvador. We were planning to skip this, figuring it is just a big city, but were convinced by others we encountered not to. With several great museums, there is a good amount to do to fill a couple of days there. I highly recommend going to the Iglesia El Rosario (Church of the Rosary), a modern church that looks like a warehouse or airplane hanger from the outside (as well as the inside), but that is fitted with rainbow stain glass windows that illuminate the inside of the church with only natural light. The church also has a chapel with the stations of the cross depicted through modern sculpture. For a more traditional Catholic cathedral, go a couple blocks over to the Metropolitan Cathedral, the main one of San Salvador. At this cathedral is the tomb of Saint Oscar Romero, who was recently named a saint. Romero was the Archbishop of San Salvador and spoke out for indigenous rights and against the government’s killing of indigenous people. He was assassinated by the government for his outspokenness in 1980, and has since become a symbol and martyr for people throughout Central America. In becoming a saint, he is the first Central American to receive such designation and has become a hero of the nation.
Outside of San Salvador is a climb and lookout point called Puerta del Diablo, but it was unfortunately being renovated when we went so we could not go; yet we went to a famous nearby restaurant called Boomwalos, known for its pupusas, the national dish of El Salvador. There, we were treated to spectacular views while enjoying our pupusas of volcanoes, valleys and Lake Ilopango, another crater lake.
Speaking of pupusas, make sure you head one evening to the neighborhood of Antiguo Cuscatlan, which has blocks of famous eateries as well as street vendors and even pop-up full bars on the street. In some of the pupuserias there is a wait of nearly an hour to get a single pupusa. After striking out with a couple of pupuserias because the wait was too long, we went to Pupuseria Filipenses and treated ourselves to a plate of a variety of pupusas, each one being only about 75 cents. Heading to this barrio for an evening of pupusas and other El Salvadoran food will be not only one of the cheapest, but also one of the best, culinary experiences you will have in your travels.
Once it was all said and done, El Salvador was a fascinating place (I mean, it is the only country in the world that has Bitcoin as one of its official currencies). While there, we encountered almost no other foreign tourists, and indeed, the country is not really set up for welcoming international tourists, especially as hardly anybody spoke any English, including at the hotels. While other Latin American countries stand out for their beaches, their wildlife, their ruins, and their history, El Salvador has all of this, and is a bit of the jack of all trades among Latin American countries, while a master of none. I would say that of the Central American countries I have been to (five of the seven), El Salvador has easily the best street food, and some of the best volcanic scenery too. Overall, it is a great and fascinating place that like many other places in the world is badly misunderstood and poorly represented on the international scene, but give it a chance and you will not be disappointed, as it is truly a hidden gem that is only a 2.5 hour flight from Houston and 4 hours from Los Angeles with many budget carriers happy to take you there for a very special long weekend.
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