More About El Salvador, El Salvador
Southwest of downtown can be found another well-stocked crafts market, the Mercado de Artesanias, along with the new Museo Nacional David J. Guzman complex, which houses El Salvador’s archaeological treasures. In this same area is the Centro Monsenor Romero. This small museum commemorates Archbishop Oscar Romero, a national hero who was assassinated in 1989. Also nearby is the Jardin Botanico, a lush botanical garden nestling inside a former volcanic crater.
The highway south of San Salvador leads to Pacific Coast beaches and the popular resort and fishing village of La Libertad. Most of El Salvador’s other tourist destinations lie to the west of the capital. The pre-Hispanic ruins of San Andres and Joya de Ceren, a Mayan village preserved in volcanic ash, give glimpses of El Salvador’s distant past. Glittering Lago de Coatepeque, and dormant Izalco Volcano in Cerro Verde National Park are two of the country’s principle natural landmarks.
Santa Ana, El Salvador’s second largest city, is much more attractive than San Salvador. A Gothic-style cathedral and the Teatro de Santa Ana, a grand old theater adorned with Hellenic statues, dominate the town’s tree-shaded main square. Ruinas de Tazumal west of Santa Ana are the most important and largest pre-Columbian ruins in the country.
Two national parks can be reached from Santa Ana: Parque Nacional el Impossible near the town of Apaneca, and the Parque Nacional Monecristo close to the Honduran border. Both of these mountainous preserves harbor virgin forests, rugged trails, and a variety of endangered species.
Written by: John Mitchell
