I didn't know much about El Salvador until I saw a lot of posts on Instagram about things to do in El Salvador. I saw some cool hikes that I wanted to do and decided to check out this place on my way heading to Costa Rica to volunteer as a yoga instructor and content creator (More blog posts to come). I had 8 days to spend in El Salvador but I was sure that it would be enough time for me to hike and explore the country. This post will be all about me sharing some of the activities that I did while I was in El Salvador.
I stayed 4 days in Santa Ana (took a shuttle from Antigua, Guatemala and crossed the border)
Cost- Q300 & booked with Q'Anil Travel, WhatsApp: +502 4243 0692
and another 4 days in San Salvador, which is the capital city of El Salvador. I took a coach bus from Santa Ana to San Salvador (Cost-$1.5 USD), which runs every 15 minutes as early as 3:30 am.
1. Volcan Illamatepec (Santa Ana Hike)
Compared to Acatenango hike in Guatemala, this was an easy hike. It was not difficult to take the chickenbus from downtown Santa Ana to the hiking trail, which made my trip to Volcan Illamatepec stress-free (Cost- $0.70 USD one way). The bus came at 7:30 am at Sala de Espera y Abordaje "LA VENCEDORA." It took about 2 hours one way and arrived around 9:30 am but it was a scenic ride so it didn't seem long and tedious.
A local guide greeted hikers who were on the chickenbus once we arrived and told us that local certified guides are mandatory on this hike. Reservations were not needed; I just showed up and was able to join the group. He collected $3 USD per person as a guide fee (which was cheap) and led us to the entrance of the park. It was a short walk and we all paid $6 USD per person for park entrance fees. ($6 USD for foreigners, $3 USD for locals).
The hike was about 3 hours roundtrip (about 4.81 miles roundtrip) and the level of hiking was between easy and moderate. The crater at the summit was beautiful! It was an emerald color and smelled like sulphur but it was so rewarding when I finished my hike. It was a perfect length for hiking since the return bus from the hiking trail is at 1pm and 4pm every day and I wanted to take the earlier bus on my way back to Santa Ana.
You should consider taking earlier bus because there isn't much to do on the trail except hiking and taking photos at the summit :)
2. Las Siete Cascadas (The seven waterfalls hike)
This was a true adventure, and I highly recommend it! The hike involved swimming in the natural pools, short repelling, and beautiful waterfalls. It took me around 5 hours for the entire trip. Take a bus to Juayua from Santa Ana at 6:40 am at UNO Gas station in front of papi pollo (Mercado Colon) and meet a local guide to go on the trail. I highly encourage you to get to the bus station early because you have to walk extra 5 minutes from the main bus station to catch Juayua bus.
I went with Gaviotita Tours Adventura, Whatsapp: +503 6113 7277 and let them know I would be interested in joining. Local guides are mandatory on this hike as well. I texted the guide 48 hours in advance that I am interested in joining so she can add me to the list. I paid when I finished hiking. It's $10 USD per person and the meetup point was at Santa Lucia Juaya church at 8:30 am. We then got on a pickup truck to get to the trailhead.
Overall, I think it was nice to swim in the pool after the hike and see waterfalls on the way to the natural pools. It was very unique and the hike was fun!
3. Cafe Albania- Tobogan (Rainbow Slide) & Other Attractions
There are two places in El Salvador where you can go on a rainbow slide, but I decided to check out Cafe Albania (located in a town called Apaneca) since I was staying in Santa Ana, which was relatively easy to approach from downtown Santa Ana by chickenbus. I had to transfer to another bus at Juayua, but catching the connecting chickenbus wasn't too difficult. The bus takes you right in front of Cafe Albania, which is nice too.
Entrance is $5 USD per person and you can use this ticket (worth $5) toward attractions that you want to ride. There is a main ticket booth where you can purchase individual tickets for any activity you would like to do. Show them your entrance ticket and pay only the difference. (Canopy $13, Tobogan $10, Tabla de surf $10, Bicicleta $10,Pendulo $5, Trapez $1, and Maze $3 USD). I didn't do all; I just did Tobogan (Rainow slide) and the maze. Highly recommend the rainbow slide! It was epic!! There was a big slide and a small one for $10 USD and it was definitely worth it! You ride solo in a tube, and is so fun. The maze is also fun! You get lost in the maze and ring the bell once you make your way through.
4. San Salvador: National Library (BINAES)
I had a flight from San Salvador to San Jose, Costa Rica so after spending some time in Santa Ana, I headed to San Salvador. I stayed couple of nights before flying out. My hostel was only a 30-minute walk to BINAES, so I was there almost every day when I was in San Salvador. I was feeling sick but I spent 2 hours early in the morning reading books and walking back to my hostel. One thing I liked about this library was that it is open 24 hours. I would get to the library at 7:30 am and spend some time there. I also liked the fact that everything was new: the building, books, facilities, etc. One of the things that I didn't like was not being able to check out books so I had to stay at the library until I was done reading. Another thing was that not all books had call numbers so I wasn't able to look up what kind of books are located in which section in the library. I walked around the aisles and still picked out some good self-help books to read while I was there. If you love reading books, check this place out!
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