10 Things to do in El Salvador

Almost everyone I have met during my travels has 0 plans of visiting El Salvador.

WHY?

“It’s too dangerous”

“There is nothing to see there”

“I never hear anything good about El Salvador”

The reality is - everywhere carries danger and everywhere carries kindness.

Plenty of people told me Guatemala was too dangerous, yet I had a lovely experience. Are parts of Guatemala dangerous? yes.

However, I did my research, knew where to avoid, and followed standard travel safety tips.

For El Salvador, I'll do the same.

I was ready to deviate myself from the 'gringo trail'. Where everyone does the same series of cities and activities. Therefore, I jumped at the opportunity to head to a country that so many tend to overlook.

Thinking of doing the same?..

Here are 10 things to do while visiting El Salvador

1. Volcano Santa Ana

Just outside of Santa Ana, El Salvador stands Volcano Santa Ana. Located in Cerro Verde National Park it is the highest peak in the country! Everyday at 10:30am a guided hike commences for a whopping $1. The entrance fee to the park however is $7 dollars. It is about a 2 hour hike to the top. The hike is a hike, but nothing difficult. You catch panoramas views of lakes and neighboring volcanoes.

When you reach the top you are greeted by monstrous volcanic crater lake of fluorescent blue and green. You will know you are close when you begin to smell the sulfur created by the lake. Make sure to bring some water and snacks, as they give you plenty of time at the top for lunch and photo ops. I had never seen anything like it and found it a bit different from all the other volcanos I have been busy hiking in my trek through Central America!

2. Ruta de Las Flores

Ruta de Las Flores (Flower Route) is a winding road lined with 5 small villages throughout the middle of the country. Perfect for hiking, waterfalls, village hopping and food experimentation.

Ruta de las Flores- JUAYUA

The most popular of these towns is definitely Juayua. Predominately for the food festival held there each weekend! We ate delicious traditional El Salvadorian plates as well as ceviche, deserts and even tried woolless dwarf sheep!

A series of waterfalls live right outside of Juayua and are definitely worth checking out. You can walk or catch a tuk tuk to the edge of town and hike down a long winding road to the entrance of the waterfalls. There is no charge, only a small fee if you have a car to park. The waterfalls are called 'Los Chorros De La Calera'

Ruta de las Flores- ATACO

I found the cutest town to be that of Ataco, super small with beautiful murals and a tiny town square that had the best snow cones!

3. El Cuco

By far the most popular tourist destination among backpackers in El Salvador is the surf town of El Tunco. However, I chose to skip it and head to the lesser known surf and beach town of El Cuco. From what I had heard El Tunco has a rocky beach for surfers only, not so much for leisure. El Cuco has beaches for swimming and surfing!

We stayed at Tortuga Verde, a rather large establishment with all different types of accommodation. They have a pool, a restaurant, and are located on the beach. They offer free yoga and surf lessons for $10. I took advantage of both, completing my first ever surf lesson here! Man was it TOUGH, but SO fun!!

Pro tip: Just down the street is a pupusa joint with cheap eats !

Speaking of Pupusas...

4. Eat Pupusas

Holy pupusas! Don't know what a pupusa is? It's the pride a joy of El Salvador, they are everywhere you go! A pupusa is a corn or rice tortilla typically stuffed with some combo of queso, beans and meat. They are down right delicious. We found the BEST pupusa place while in all of El Salvador.. and trust me we tried a lot. It is called Esmeraldas in Juayua, El Salvador.. write it down people, their pupusas are chronic goodness. They had queso, beans, beef, spinach, squash and I don't even know what else, don't care, they were delicious. With pupusas at 50 cents a pop you could get full for 2$ and they were basically all we ate!

5. Los Tercios Waterfall The most unique waterfall I've seen in all of Central America! The formation of the rock took place when touched by lava from a near by volcano. It is truly a sight to see!

It is located in the small town of Suchitoto. Everyday at 3:30pm there is a police escort to the waterfall. All you do is head to the police station and they will drive you there. Here are some friends we met while visiting Suchitoto! These guys had the voice automation activated on their GoPro and shouted "GoPro toma una foto" everytime they wanted a photo and it made me laugh every single time! They let me give it a go but the GoPro was not keen on my Espanol haha!

6. Visit With The Local People Guys, El Salvadorian people they are the nicest! I spent two weeks traveling all of El Salvador and everywhere I went I was greeted by such friendly people, without fail! Everyone is so excited to see tourists visiting their country. They are proud of where they come from and eager to share it with you. The hospitality I witnessed was wonderful. On buses, in hotels, on the streets, in restaurants, everywhere! Here is a group of friends that we met while they were having a mini dance party in the middle of town. They invited us to join and made sure to grab a photo with us!

7. Espíritu de la Montaña - Volcano Conchagua Best view in all of El Salvador! Located on top of Volcano Conchagua in the town of Conchagua. You can see where Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador all meet from up there. The land is owned by a man named Luis, who is currently building a restaurant and hostel up there. We had a crazy night up there when Luis invited us to stay on the mountain, another account of El Salvadorian hospitality that you can read more about HERE!

8. Take the Chicken Buses They are dirt cheap and go EVERYWHERE you need to go. There was always someone there to help you navigate and over the course of 2 weeks I think I only had to wait more than 5-10 minutes for a bus to arrive about twice. Tons of vendors come onto the bus to sell local foods such as coconut water, sweet bread, fruit, fries, pupusas, etc.

Pro tip: Ask a local how much the bus is before you pay, so you know you are being charged the correct amount. Yes, sometimes its time-consuming due connections and multiple stops but it allows you to get a feel for the lives of the locals and allows you to see the beautiful landscape of El Salvador. Which leads me to my next point..

9. Admire the Landscape Holy green! I was able to see so much of the country while taking the chicken buses. El Salvador is beautiful.

10. Catch an El Salvadorian Sunrise

The pictures speak for themselves on this one..

You can read more of my stories from El Salvador HERE

Get out there and check out El Salvador for yourself!

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