El Salvador

Tiny, volcanic, and the surf is genuinely world class

El Salvador is the smallest country in mainland Central America and the most densely populated, small enough to cross in a few hours. It went through a brutal civil war in the 1980s and then decades of gang violence, and its recent security crackdown has been both dramatically effective on crime rates and heavily criticised on human rights grounds.

The practical effect for visitors is that a country almost nobody went to is now receiving them. The surf is the main draw: a Pacific coastline of consistent right-hand point breaks around El Tunco, Punta Roca and El Zonte, the last of which became known as Bitcoin Beach after the country adopted the cryptocurrency as legal tender in 2021.

Beyond the surf, the Ruta de las Flores is a chain of highland coffee towns with weekend food fairs, Santa Ana volcano has a turquoise crater lake and a straightforward hike, and Joya de Ceren is a Mayan farming village preserved under volcanic ash, giving a picture of ordinary life that the great temple sites do not.

Annual events and festivals

• Fiestas Agostinas (Aug) — the biggest festival, honouring the Divine Saviour of the World in San Salvador.
• Bolas de Fuego, Nejapa (31 Aug) — residents throw flaming rag balls at each other. Genuinely, and with injuries.
• Semana Santa (Mar-Apr) — Holy Week, with alfombras and processions, largest in Sonsonate and Izalco.
• Independence Day (15 Sep) — marks the 1821 break from Spain.
• Dia de la Cruz (3 May) — decorated crosses put up in homes and yards with fruit offerings.
• Ruta de las Flores food festivals (weekends) — Juayua gastronomic fair runs every weekend of the year.
• Carnaval de San Miguel (Nov) — the largest carnival in the country.
• Dia de los Farolitos (7 Sep) — children carry paper lanterns through the streets in Ahuachapan.
• Palm Sunday, Panchimalco (Mar-Apr) — an indigenous procession with decorated palm fronds.
• Surf season (Mar-Oct) — not a festival, but when the Pacific swell is most consistent.