Central America - (Page 11)

EL SALVADOR Call of the Wild Just a day away from the capital (40 miles), San Salvador, is the Cerro Verde National Park, famous for its orchid garden and trails for hiking and birdwatching in the company of English-speaking guides. Following steep climbs from different points in the park, visitors have majestic views of Coatepeque Lake, a favorite with scuba divers, sailors and water-skiers. National parks are also the major centers for hikers and climbers. Trek Parque Nacional Los Volcanes, which embraces the area of Cerro Verde Mountain (an easy 35-minute hike) and home to the Izalco and Santa Ana volcanoes. The Volcan de Izalco, or “Lighthouse of the Pacific,” is a nearly perfect cone ideal for climbing. It is the park’s most visually dramatic volcano with a challenging, roughly 3-hour climb up to the 6,404-ft. summit and crater. The borders of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras converge at the cloud forests of Montecristo National Park—a.k.a. El Trifinio. Here is an orchid farm—some 100 species—a nature-walk center, and nature trails to follow with guides leading the way to rivers and best lookout points. calling... Call of the Sea One of the many nice things about the Pacific beaches of El Salvador is that they lie an hour away from the capital. The Balsamo Coast, a roughly 16-mile stretch west of La Libertad, has the best surf, dark-sand beaches, cliff-side villages, nice little hotels and restaurants with great views, and a winding, scenic coast road connects it all. The most popular villages are Playa Tunco (hotel pick: Tekuami Kal); Playa Sunzal (hotel pick: Las Olas Beach House); and Playa El Zonte (hotel picks are laid-back surfer haunts). Playa Los Cobanos offers divers and snorkelers a variety of coral and marine fauna. Its two most upscale resorts are Las Veraneras—with an 18-hole golf course—and the all-inclusive Royal Decameron Salinitas. The country’s seaside attraction that makes headlines the world over is world-class surfing—the El Salvador breaks are said to be the best in Central America. Beginner surfers head for the point break at Playa Sunzal, while the experts go for the famous Punta Roca. town walls. Towns come no lovelier than those along La Ruta de la Flores (The Route of the Flowers)—a 22-mile stretch of winding mountain road—and each offers something different: from the furniture craftsmen of Nahuizalco and Juayua’s weekend food and crafts festival, to the coffee center of Apaneca and the artsy vibe of wood carvers and weavers in Ataco. The tour also offers amazing views of thousands of flowering coffee plantations, and along the way (in Apaneca), travelers will find the country’s highest and longest zipline canopy tour. El Salvador offers other “cultural routes,” including one focused on the ancient past with visits to Joya de Ceren, 20 miles northwest of San Salvador. The village thrived 1,400 years ago before being buried intact around A.D. 600 by the ashes of the lava eruption from Caldera Lomo. On view today are interesting adobe houses, unearthed with household goods and utensils in place. There is also an excellent museum on site. Not far away is El Salvador’s most recent discovery, Cihuatan, whose ball court and other Mayan structures have been beautifully excavated, and farther west is Tazamul, whose important remains include a step pyramid, ball courts and temples. el Salvador tour talk • Ladatco Tours (800-327-6162; ladatco.com) markets a 10-day El Salvador Explorer vacation, spending two nights in Suchitoto; one night in San Salvador and three nights in Apaneca that includes visits to the Mayan site of Joya de Ceren and tours along La Ruta de las Flores. Also included are three nights at Barra de Santiago Beach’s La Cocotera Lodge. Priced at $3,295 pp dbl, the cost includes the choicest accommodations, most meals, private car transfers and travel with private guide. • Sunny Land Tours (800-783-7839; sunnylandtours.com) offers a 5-day Forests, Canopy Adventure & Volcanoes package with two nights in San Salvador and a full day trip to El Posible National Park, plus two nights at Alicante Mountain Hotel to ride the Apaneca Canopy Tour and climb the Izalco Volcano in Cerro Verde National Park. The cost with air from Miami is $1,242 pp dbl, covering accommodations, guided tours, meals as indicated, and transfers. n Culture Calling Heading to the countryside is the key to getting to know El Salvador and enjoying up-close experiences with its people and its culture. Everyone’s favorite stop is Suchitoto, 30 miles north of the capital and a picturesque and charming town whose cobblestone streets are bordered by colonial-style buildings (including the homes of three presidents), cafes, and arts and crafts galleries. Every weekend, the town hosts the arts festival with live music, art exhibits, and stands selling all kinds of regional foods and crafts. Directly to the north is La Palma, home of native son and internationally acclaimed artist Fernando Llort, whose work decorates the front of the National Cathedral and whose murals adorn the el Salvador faSt faCtS Capital city: San Salvador International airport: Comalapa International Airport Nonstop air service from the U.S.: American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Taca Domestic airline: Taca Entry requirements: Passport; tourist card purchased on arrival ($10) International departure tax: $32 Tourism information: elsalvador.travel August 2010 C11 http://www.ladatco.com http://www.sunnylandtours.com http://elsalvador.travel

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Central America

Belize
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Nicaragua
Panama

Central America