EL SALVADOR

El Salvador. With an area of 21,040 km2 (the smallest country in Central America), it is the most densely populated with more than 6,500,000 people. It has 25 volcanoes, 14 lakes, and four large cities and is divided in to East, Central and West with the capital San Salvador in the central region, Santa Ana in the west, and San Miguel in the east.

Capital. San Salvador
Currency: US dollar
Population: 6.4 million
Country Code: +503

HISTORY
Pre-Columbian to early independence. The civilization of El Salvador dates from the pre-Columbian time, around 1500 B.C., according to evidence provided by the ancient structures of Tazumal in Chalchuapa. The Spanish Admiral Andrés Niño led an expedition to Central America and disembarked on the Island Meanguera, located in the Gulf of Fonseca in 1522. In 1524, Spanish Captain Pedro de Alvarado began a predatory war against the native tribes of Cuzcatlán. During 17 days of bloody battles many natives and Spaniards died. Pedro de Alvarado was defeated and, with an injury to his left hip, abandoned the fight and fled to Guatemala, appointing his brother, Gonzalo de Alvarado, to continue with the conquest of Cuzcatlán. Later, his cousin Diego de Alvarado established the Villa of San Salvador in April 1525. King Carlos I of Spain (who also ruled in what is now Germany as Karl V) granted San Salvador the title of City in the year 1546. During the following years, El Salvador developed under Spanish rule.
Towards the end of 1810, the criollos (European descendant people born in the Spanish colonies) who had long been excluded from most real power in the colonies, wanted to overthrow the tiny elite of peninsulares (people born in mainland Spain) and the colonial administration. The moment to fight for independence from Spain arrived at dawn on November 5th, 1811, when the Salvadoran priest, Jose Matías Delgado, sounded the bells of the Iglesia La Merced in San Salvador, making a call for insurrection. As with most former Spanish colonies, independence was made likelier by the fact that Spain was occupied by Napoleonic troops and the colonial administration was unsure whether they should be loyal to the former king or the new king of Napoleon’s choosing. After many internal fights and setbacks that made independence seem unlikely, the Acta de Independencia (Act of Independence) of Central America was signed in Guatemala on September 15th, 1821. Like the other four Central American states that gained independence that day, El Salvador joined the short lived United Provinces of Central America, the closest those five countries have ever come to a meaningful form of political unity since.
While independence brought more political participation (at least in theory) to the (white) land-holding elites and urban middle class, the indigenous population didn’t benefit at all and in fact continued to be disenfranchised and dispossessed even more. By 1900 over 90% of the land was in the hand of just 0.01% of the population, a situation that would prove to threaten the country’s political stability for much of the time to come.
20th and 21st centuries. The fraudulent elections of January 1932 were the detonating factor of the social outbreak. Several voting sites were suspended in populations in which the Communist Party had a strong presence. A new insurrection began. After two frustrated assaults on the Cuartel de Caballería (Cavalry Quarters) were conducted by the rebel forces, the government ordered martial law. Strict censorship of the press was implemented. In the following days thousands of farmers and workers, carrying machetes and some few “Mauser” rifles attacked police stations, municipal offices, telegraph stations, warehouses, and wealthy landowners’ properties. This insurrection was crushed. On January 31st, Manuel Antonio Castañeda sentenced Farabundo Martí to death. He was shot and killed on February 1st, 1932. Another sad consequence of the uprising and its suppression was “la Matanza”, a mass slaughter of indigenous people (many of them sympathetic towards Martí but many of them not) simply for being indigenous, looking indigenous, wearing clothes deemed to be indigenous or speaking indigenous languages. While not all indigenous people were actually killed, it dealt a huge blow to indigenous culture and even today less than 1% of Salvadorans self-identify as indigenous, the lowest number in all of Central America. While this is in part due to fear of being discriminated against or stereotyped when identifying as indigenous, there are some people of indigenous descent that have lost all ties to the culture of their ancestors and don’t self-identify as indigenous because of that.
Over the next decades, many coups d’états followed, including the one that overthrew General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez.
Relations with Honduras deteriorated in the late 1960s. There was a border clash in 1967, and a four-day so-called guerra de futbol (Soccer War), as it was named by the international mass media, broke out in July 1969 after a FIFA world cup qualification match between the two countries. The war ended with a cease-fire prompted by pressure from the United States and the Organization of American States. The Salvadoran forces that had invaded Honduras were withdrawn. They were just a few kilometers outside Tegucigalpa, Honduras’ capital.
A movement of organized leftist guerrillas sprang up in 1974 and 1975, amid increasing political violence. In 1980, three of the leftist organizations united to coordinate a fight against the government. This movement was called FMLN (Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional. English: Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front). In March of the same year Monseñor Oscar Arnulfo Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador, was assassinated while he was celebrating mass. It is widely believed that the order for his execution came from Major Roberto D’Abuisson, the founder and leader of ARENA, a right-wing party. D’Abuisson is best known for his suspected involvement in death squad murders. He died of cancer in 1992. On January 16th, 1992, the government of El Salvador and the FMLN signed Los Acuerdos de Paz (Peace Accords) in Chapultepec, Mexico, putting an end to one of the most painful chapters in the history of El Salvador. The 12 years of armed conflict claimed the lives of over 75,000 people and caused the exodus of hundreds of thousands more who fled to the United States, Canada, and other countries to escape the violence.
The FMLN has become a legal political party and won 30-40% of the vote in elections from 1997 to 2015, but won less than a quarter of the vote in 2018. Apart from economic woes a big problem the country still faces is also somewhat of a legacy of the war as some people who left El Salvador ended up in American jails and upon release were deported to El Salvador bringing with them US-style gang culture. As many of these people were very young when they left El Salvador more or less their only source of identity was gang culture, and thus combating these extremely violent groups has proven to be extremely difficult.
Today, El Salvador is stable and with a growing economy, leaving behind its painful history.

Climate. Tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on the coast; temperate in the uplands.
As this is a tropical country, temperature doesn’t depend all that much on season but rather altitude and time of day. If you have never been to the tropics and want to capture a sunrise or sunset be very quick, as the sun sets and rises much faster than in the temperate or even polar zones.

Holidays

GET IN
Visas. Immigration requires either a visa or tourist card. Visas are issued by consulates and the tourist card is generally issued for 90 days and can be purchased for US$10 at the port of entry.
By plane. El Salvador International Airport in Comalapa (SALl) 50 km south of the capital city. A US$32 departure tax must be paid upon departure.
Avianca has been the national airline of El Salvador since its merger with Taca. They have a monopoly and high ticket prices, especially for travel within Central America. Shop around for deals. Aeromexico Connect (Mexico City, American Airlines (Miami, Dallas), Copa Airlines (Panama City), Delta (Atlanta) Iberia (Madrid), Spirit (Fort Lauderdale), United (Houston, Newark)
By car. The Pan-American highway is a safe route for entering the country and travelling between San Miguel in the East and San Salvador in the West

GET AROUND
Rental car agencies include Alamo and Hertz. Buses and taxis also provide good ways of getting around. Distances between sights make walking an unpopular option, as does the street layout in the city; San Salvador is not a square city, but has long avenues that are straight and streets that aren’t. That said, in some areas walking is a great option, such as in Zona Rosa.
“El Salvador now has a well developed GPS navigation system called QFind that can help you move around either in urban or rural areas. This is a fully functional system with thousands of points of interest and turn by turn routing to your destination.
By bus. Very cheap (not more than $2-3 for even the longest rides) and difficult to understand except they are consistently numbered. Single and double digit numbers designate local, in-town routes while buses numbered in the triple digits travel between cities and towns. Run consistently and frequently.
Language. The official language in El Salvador is Spanish, however a large population does speak English. Around 1% of people speak Izalco or Nahuat, the Pipil language.

SEE
Chaparrastique, San Miguel – One of the most active volcanoes in El Salvador
The countryside of El Salvador is breathtaking, with volcanoes and mountains offering “green” adventures. Many of environmentally-oriented community-based organizations promote eco-tourism, and there are a number of beautiful and secluded beaches and forests scattered throughout the country.
Bosque El Imposible. A well-maintained and practically deserted national park in the west. Montecristo Cloud Forest
La Isla de Méndez quaint fishing village with incredible local hospitality and remote coconut islands in.
Isla de Olomega excellent eco-tourism destination, as are the beautiful Isla El Cajete in Sonsonate, Isla San Sebastian, Conchagua, Conchaguita, Isla Conejo, Isla Teopan, and Isla Meanguera.
Colonial towns of Apaneca, Juayua, Panchimalco, and Suchitoto
Mayan sites of San Andrés, Joya de Cerén (the Pompeii of Central America and an UNESCO World Heritage Site), and Tazumal, whose main pyramid rises some 33 m (75 feet) into the air. The on-site museum showcases artifacts from the Pipil culture (the builders of Tazumal), and paintings that illustrate life in pre-Hispanic El Salvador.
Souvenir hunters will find some of the best artisans in San Juan el Espino and in La Palma (the artisan capital of El Salvador).
San Salvador, is a cosmopolitan city with good restaurants highlighting the country’s fresh seafood, and plenty of shopping, entertainment and nightlife.”San Miguel in the East offers tourists a more authentic way to see El Salvador by getting off the beaten track to see its countryside, coastline and lakes

DO
Surfing El Salvador is gaining a reputation for having some of the best surfing in the world. Tourists from all over Central America are discovering the surfing meccas of La Libertad (near San Salvador), El Sunzal, El Zonte and El Cuco (near San Miguel ), transforming El Salvador into the fastest growing surf tourism hot-spot in Central America.
Stand-up paddleboarding at the famous Intipuca Beach
Water skiing, tubing, wake boarding, para sailing, jet skiing in Playa El Esteron, one of the most beautiful beaches in El Salvador
Volcano hiking up Chaparrastique – One of the most active volcanoes in El Salvador
Nature hikes and lake tours to Isla de Olomega on Lake Olomega
Waterfalls and hot springs
El Salvador’s official currency is the U.S. dollar. Carry only $1, $5, $10 or $20 bills as most stores won’t accept $50 or $100 bills that are almost unspendable. Get change wherever you can — gas stations and banks are the best.
El Salvador has an electronics and luxury tax of 30-75 percent depending on the demand.

EAT
The typical Salvadoran diet includes lots of rice and beans, seafood (particularly among those who live on the coast), and the most common Salvadoran dish, the famous Pupusa, a round corn tortilla filled with cheese and other elements, usually chicharon (shredded pork meat). It’s widely agreed that the best pupusas in the country can be bought in Olocuilta, which you can get to along the highway on the way to the Comalapa airport. You will find more than 50 pupusa stands there, competing for business.
Also Salvadorans eat fried sliced plantains (platanos) usually with beans, sour cream, cheese and sometimes eggs, yuca con chicharron, pastelitos de carne, panes con pavo (turkey sandwiches), hand made tortillas among other very delicious Salvadoran foods.
If you are staying on the coast, make sure you try the cóctel de conchas. It is a mix of black clams, lime juice, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and chiles in a spicy black sauce. You can find them for about $3/bowl, using freshly harvested clams. A wide range of other seafood dishes can also be found.
Many large modern supermarkets are scattered throughout the capital and in large towns, such as La Despensa de Don Juan and Super Selectos, which sell local produce and a large variety of international products.
Drink. Try the most delicious Horchata (made from rice and “morro” seeds) and Cebada (a smooth and sweet pink barley refreshment). If you prefer (at your own risk) to drink natural juices, such as: guava, jocote, arrayan, chirimoya, granadilla de “moco” and marañon. Furthermore, you should try to savour the local fruit, as: jocotes, marañon japones, green mango (with salt, lime, alhuaiste (ground pumpkin seed), manzana pedorra (orig.from Los Planes de Renderos), “nance”, “red or yellow almendras” salvadorenias, “hicaco”, “paterna” (also try the cooked paterna seed with lime and hot pepper, and don’t miss the suave and liquory aroma of “carao”.
Clubs. The trendiest night spot is La Zona Rosa, small but with exclusive, upscale bars and nightclubs, and the best restaurants. A famous spot to go is a mall named Multiplaza, where it has several clubs and bars. There’s also Paseo del Carmen.
In San Miguel the famous Av. Roosevelt that hosts one of the biggest festivals in Central America in November is where you will find numerous bars and clubs for sexy nightlife.

STAY SAFE
El Salvador has a bad reputation due to the civil war of the 80s. El Salvador has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Crime is an issue, and most of it is attributed to street gangs, though statistics from official sources do not support that claim. You must use common sense and avoid entering into a zone that does not appear safe, just like you do in any country of the world. Avoid carrying fancy items such as jewelry, expensive cameras, and watches if you are walking on the public streets. Women should avoid traveling alone as they may catch the occasional cat-calling and perhaps get felt up on tightly packed buses. As a foreigner the kind of response you might get from the police is “hit or miss.” If you have been pick-pocketed or otherwise robbed without harm to your person, a visit to the police station will almost certainly be an exercise in frustration. Police officers have also been known to harass or to be inappropriate to female travelers.
Many Salvadorans are armed, and shootouts are not uncommon.
Extortion tactics have included indiscriminate grenade attacks on buses, businesses and restaurants, resulting in the death or injury of dozens of people, including children. These types of attacks are unpredictable and the U.S. Embassy advises its personnel to remain alert to their surroundings and to minimize risk to themselves.
It is a good idea for anyone visiting El Salvador to keep only necessary forms of identification, such as a driver’s license, when exploring the city or tourist locales. If you must keep your passport on you at all times, a traveller’s pouch would allow you to have it safely with you. Police officers routinely ask tourists to present their passports, most can be convinced that a copy of the passport and another form of identification is sufficient. Most tourists prefer to stay within the safe areas of El Salvador such as La Zona Rosa where there is relatively no crime.
In 1996 San Salvador was considered the second most dangerous city in the Western Hemisphere. Since the end of the civil war in 1992 El Salvador has not seen a reduction in crime rates. Today San Salvador, and El Salvador in general, experience some of the highest homicide rates in the world, it is also considered an epicenter of the gang crisis, along with Guatemala and Honduras. The homicides reported in 2006 reached up to 3,906, in 2005 3,779 were reported; 57.2 violent deaths per every 100,000 people. Crime rates in general have been steadily growing throughout the years, from 2005-2006 crime rose 7.5%. El Salvador is the most dangerous and violent country in Central America. The government tried controlling the gangs with a tactic called “Super Mano Dura” which means “Super Strong Hand”, however it has not been successful and crime rates have continued to rise.

Respect. Salvadorans are known for their great hospitality. They are among the nicest people in the world. They are friendly, industrious people always willing to help anyone. That is what has earned El Salvador the nickname of “the country with a smile”. When speaking with people you don’t know, it is customary to address them in a formal manner, using señor, señora and/or usted.

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El Salvador – West (San Salvador, Santa Ana, West of River Lempa)

NOMAD MANIA El Salvador – West (San Salvador, Santa Ana, West of River Lempa)
World Heritage Sites: Joya de Cerén Archaeological Site
Tentative WHS
Cara Sucia / El Imposible (21/09/1992)
Chalchuapa (21/09/1992)
Ciudad Vieja / La Bermuda (21/09/1992)
Lake Guija (21/09/1992)
Borders
El Salvador (sea border/port)
El Salvador-Guatemala
El Salvador-Honduras|
XL: Guija Lake area
World of Nature
Caldera De Coatepeque
Cerro Verde (Los Volcanes) NP
Cerrón Grande Dam Wetlands
El Boquerón NP
El Imposible NP
Montecristo NP
Rancho Grande or El Junquillo Forest
San Diego La Barra Forest
Lakes
Güija Lake Tentative WHS Lake Guija (21/09/1992)
Lake Coatepeque
Lake Ilopango
Rivers: Lempa/Otopa River
Festivals
Copa Quiksilver
Festival Permanente de Arte y Cultura de Suchitoto
Fiesta de las Flores y Palmas
Las Bolas de Fuego
Beaches
Costa del Sol
La Libertad beaches
Waterfalls
Cascada Los Tercios-Suchitoto
Los Chorros (7 waterfalls)
Salto El Cubo 

Cities of the Americas
SONSONATE
SANTA ANA World City and Popular Town
Museums: Santa Ana: Museo Regional del Occidente
Religious Temples: Santa Ana: Santa Ana Cathedral

SAN SALVADOR World Capital, World City and Popular Town
Airports: San Salvador (SAL)
Museums
Currency Museum
Forma Museum
Military Museum of the Armed Forces of El Salvador
MUPI (Museo de la Palabra y la Imagen)
Museum of Art of El Salvador
National Museum of Anthropology David J. Guzman
Natural History Museum
Museum of Children’s Tin Marin
Religious Temples
Cathedral of San Salvador
Iglesia El Rosario=
Botanical Gardens: San Salvador: Jardin Botanico La Laguna
Markets
Mercado Central
Mercado Nacional de Artesanias
Religious Monuments: Monumento al Divino Salvador del Mundo
Monuments: Monumento a la Revolucion
Railway Museums: Railway Museum and Theme Park

Villages and Small Towns
CONCEPTCION DE ATACO
JAYAQUE
SUCHITOTO
House Museums/Plantations: Suchitoto: Casa De Alejandro Cotto
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El Salvador – East (San Miguel, La Union, East of River Lempa)

NOMAD MANIA El Salvador – East (San Miguel, La Union, East of River Lempa)
Tentative WHS
Cacaopera (21/09/1992)
Gulf of Fonseca (21/09/1992)
Islands
Conchaguita
Meanguera del Golfo
Borders
El Salvador (sea border/port)
El Salvador-Honduras
XL. Isla El Espiritu Santo
Museums”Perquín: Museum of the Revolution
House Museums/Plantations: Usulután: Casa Del Escritor Alberto Masferrer
Religious Temples: Santa Ana: San Miguel Cathedral
World of Nature
Conchagua Forest
Jiquilisco Bay Biosphere Reserve
Lakes: Lake Olomega”
Rivers
Goascorán River
Lempa/Otopa River
Beaches
Maculis Beach
Playa El Cuco

Cities of the Americas
SAN MIGUEL
Museums: San Miguel: Museo Regional del Oriente