Amazing Cerro Verde National Park, El Salvador

Volcano Izalco, El Salvador

Travelers who want to see the amazing natural wonders of the Cerro Verde National Park must first drive northwest to Santa Ana, and then southwest to the Park. This is easily accomplished with our El Salvador GPS map and your Garmin.  After arriving at the Park, the main attractions are the three volcanoes with dominate the landscape.

Izalco and Cerro Verde, El Salvador

The first is Cerro Verde or Cuntetepeque in Nahuatl, a dormant volcano filled with lush vegetation. The road to the park entrance brings you to the summit where there is a small zip line, a local eatery and some snack stands, a exclusive hotel now in ruins which you can tour and see Izalco from the patio and childrens playgrounds.

Caldera de Santa Ana, El Salvador

Next is Izalco, a Stratovolcano next to Volcano Santa Ana. Once called the "Lighthouse of the Pacific" due to its continuous eruptions from 1770 to 1958, its most recent eruption was in 1966 shortly before a new hotel was completed within the park (which


is now closed). Visitors can climb the peak with guidance from police and guides organized at the Cerro Verde main park buildings. Buses are available to/from Santa Ana on a daily basis.

The third volcano is Santa Ana, the tallest volcano in El Salvador at 2,381 meters above sea level. Hiking to the crater lake is an amazing trek through jungle and volcanic alpine terrain. The summit contains 4 calderas with a lake in the center which you can see boiling water on occasion. It is a 4 hour round trip hike from the Cerro Verde parking lot accompanied by knowledgeable guides and police officers.

You will rarely see a more majestic view than from the tops of these volcanoes. Book your trip and grab our map today!

Learn more about El Salvador, including other Top Destinations, Major Cities, hotels, and restaurants in our El Salvador Travel Guide.

Before You Go... 

Pick up our El Salvador map. This GPS map will give you turn by turn directions to your destination using a point of interest (POI), city point, and/or latitude and longitude, with the ability to preplan driving destinations before getting into your car.

The easy to follow instructions allow you to download and install the map into Garmin BaseCamp desktop software and transfer it to your Garmin GPS in minutes. This installable map is compatible with ALL Garmin GPS units .

It's like having your own personal travel guide with you on your trip!

Screen Capture of our El Salvador GPS Map.

Screen Capture of our El Salvador GPS Map.

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You can also connect with us on Google Plus, see our travel guide pictures on Pinterest, and view some of our videos on YouTube.

Ruinas de Tazumal, El Salvador

The Ruins of Tazumal

Tazumal is a unique complex located in the southern portion of the ancient Mesoamerican city of Chalchuapa, in western El Salvador. It's uniqueness comes from three factors: architecture, alignment, and artifacts.

Tazumal's architecture is unique because construction, which began during the Mayan Preclassic period (<250 CE), was interrupted by the eruption of the Ilopango volcano. Construction was not continued for several generations, until some time in the Early to Middle Classic periods (250-650 CE). Because of this break, the Tazumal buildings are significantly larger than the other buildings in the complex, nearly matching other Preclassical ruins in size. The other aspect of it's architecture that makes Tazumal unique is it's alignment. All of the Tazumal buildings face west.

Xipe Totec

Lastly, artifacts found at Tazumal, particularly green obsidian, suggest stronger links with Mexico than were previously thought to have existed. In fact, archaeologists believe that Tazumal was responsible for extending Mayan reach as far as Teotihuacan. Other Mexican artifacts found here include chacmool sculptures, a jaguar effigy sculpture, and an anthropomorphic sculpture depicting the central Mexican deity Xipe Totec.

Learn more about El Salvador, including other Top Destinations, Major Cities, hotels, and restaurants in our El Salvador Travel Guide.

Before You Go... 

Pick up our El Salvador map. This GPS map will give you turn by turn directions to your destination using a point of interest (POI), city point, and/or latitude and longitude, with the ability to preplan driving destinations before getting into your car.

The easy to follow instructions allow you to download and install the map into Garmin BaseCamp desktop software and transfer it to your Garmin GPS in minutes. This installable map is compatible with ALL Garmin GPS units .

It's like having your own personal travel guide with you on your trip!

Screen Capture of our El Salvador GPS Map.

Screen Capture of our El Salvador GPS Map.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

You can also connect with us on Google Plus, see our travel guide pictures on Pinterest, and view some of our videos on YouTube.