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El Salvador is sitting on top of a volcano. Lava is bubbling beneath the country. The small country is located on a volcanic highland of ashes and lava. It is surrounded by two volcano ranges. Many mountain lakes emerged from volcanic movements. Today geysers are used for energy production. The lava soil is ideal for coffee plantations.
San Salvador, the capitol, is a mixture from modern and colonial buildings and large squares. The church St. Ignatius Loyola in the old quarter of the town is especially impressive because of its Spanish colonial front. One has a wonderful view over the city from the close by Balboa Park and a 1200 m high rock formation called “Devils Gate” (Puerta del Diablo).
From San Salvador a nice tour leads to Panchimalco. The Pancho Indians live here; they have preserved a lot of their old traditions. Further destinations on the tour might be the Ilopagno Lake as well as the volcanoes San Salvador (1943 m) and Izalco (1910 m). The Tazumal ruins near Chalchuapa offer a glimpse of the history of this country. These ceremonial sites were occupied by different Indio tribes. The El Tazumal pyramid is said to have been built in the 6th century.
The beaches and fishing villages along the Pacific coast are a perfect spot to relax. These places are easy to reach by highway connections. Otherwise El Salvador is not well developed for tourism. The long civil war has kept the country from a development in this direction. By now El Salvador is trying to attract visitors from all over the world.
Culinary delicacies in El Salvador are especially soups and stews. The national dish is Pupusa (corn flour tortilla with beans, meat and cheese). It is often sold in little booths along the streets.
Some geography:
El Salvador stretches across an area of only 21,000 square kilometers and is therefore the smallest country in Central America. It has about 6.4 million inhabitants, most of them mestizos. Language of the country is Spanish. 80 percent of the inhabitants are of Catholic belief. El Salvador celebrates its national holiday on September 15th. On that day in 1821 it became independent from Spain.
Black & white:
The number of crimes is very high in El Salvador. Tourists should be extremely careful when visiting interesting volcanoes and along the beaches. There is hardly any scruple to use fire weapons or knifes. In case one is mugged one should possibly avoid fighting back.
Be careful of the underwater currents when swimming in the Pacific. Sometimes they occur close to the shore. There are no lifeguards or boats on these beaches. |
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