Volcanoes -Ilamatepec – Izalco – Los Ausoles – Joya de Cerén- Chinchontepec – Chaparrastique – Alegría Lagoon
Overview Volcanoes Program
Day 1: Arrival transfer into San Salvador
Day 2: Ilamatepec Volcano. Overnight in Flower’s Route
Day 3: Izalco Volcano. Overnight in Flower’s Route
Day 4: Los Ausoles & Joya de Cerén. Overnight in San Salvador
Day 5: Chinchontepec Volcano. Overnight in San Miguel
Day 6: Chaparrastique Volcano. Overnight in San Miguel
Day 7: Alegría Lagoon and departure transfer
Detailed Program
Day 1: Unguided Arrival Transfer 40 minutos //
Welcome to El Salvador! At your arrival our representative will be waiting in the exit gate, raising a distinctive signboard. Transfer to your hotel. Overnight in San Salvador.
Day 2: Santa Ana Volcano (Ilamatepec) 8h B //
Santa Ana Volcano is 2381 height, this is the largest volcano in the country. Its original name in native language is Ilamatepec, the most accepted interpretation for this word is “Mountain Father”. Located in the west volcano complex, travelers from everywhere looking for conquer the top of this mountain, for appreciate spectacular views of the landscape among them the Coatepeque Lake, which is a surface water from volcanic origins; neverthelss maybe the most iconic is the emerald lagoon inside the crater. The last eruption of Ilamatepec was on October 2005, when small villages around were buried under the ash and a huge slide in the slopes provoked havoc.
Day 3: Izalco Volcano 8 h B //
Izalco means “place of the obsidian or black sands” and its origins go back to the 18th Century only, turning it into one of the youngest volcanoes in the American continent; when, according to historians, an orifice in the slopes of the Santa Ana volcano fired ash and smoke, and for 196 years it erupted without ceasing until it formed the particular volcanic cone that we know in these days. The volcanic activity in those days was so intense that the red glow of lava was visible from the ocean, and due this reason still preserve the nickname of “The Pacific Lighthouse”. Climbing to the top of this volcano you will appreciate the crater and beautiful views of the coastal area and the Pacific Ocean.
Day 4: Los Ausoles & Joya de Cerén B // 8 hrs
Ahuachapán, is also known as the geothermal capital of Central America, its volcanic activity is impressive, this due to the Ausoles, deposit of rocks where you can see holes in the land where steam emanates due to boiling water as well as boiling mud deposits, many legends are derived from these openings including that they are the lobby of hell and the place where the devil bathes, now they are used to generate energy.
Later transfer to San Salvador, on the way visit Joya de Cerén, archaeological site declared World Heritage Site in 1993, on the site you will appreciate a farm village, preserved under layers of ash from volcanic activity in the year 600DC, according to the archaeologists the vestiges reveal valuable information to understand the pre-Columbian daily life, and it was named as the “Pompeii of America”, you will also appreciate the lava fields of El Playón.
Day 5- San Vicente Volcano (Chinchontepec) 10 hrs B //
Jiboa valley in the western of El Salvador is beautified by the 2182 meters of Chinchontepec volcano. Apparently its translation from Nahuat is “Mountain of the two tits”, teories affirm natives named it in that way due the shape with a depression between two elevated peaks. The eruptive records of this volcano are unknown, but it has been scenery of relevant incidents in the country´s history, as aerial accidents and natural disasters like slides because of the storms, which have destroyed villages and killed people. Arriving into San Vicente city, take a short tour in the main plaza and the iconic clock tower. Here take a 4×4 vehicle to the base of the volcano, climbing to the top for amazing views, even Ilopango lake when is not cloudy. Finally visit the Infiernillos , hot springs boiling and emanating harmless volcanic gases.
Day 6: San Miguel Volcano (Chaparrastique) – 12 hrs B//
More remote and less touristic than the rest of the volcanoes, we find Chaparrastique. Even is not the highest volcano in the country, is the most difficult for hiking due the characteristic of the land and catalogued among the most beautiful. Currently, volcanologists are following closely the monitoring of this colossus due the increase of its activity in the last years, but the ascension is safe considering the appropriate measures. Chaparrastique could means in Lenca language “land of the heat”. Prepare for hike the most difficult top in El Pulgarcito.
Day 7: Alegría Lagoon and departure transfer – 6 hrs B//
In our last day through the volcanoes land, an easier visit. Tecapa volcano, sourrounded by coffee plantations, hides in the inside of its crater a natural wonder of great beauty: Alegría Lagoon, this is a surface water with intense green tonalities in its color due the volcanic effect, it is not recommendable for swimming, it really worth the visit for watch it , just as did it the poetess Nobel Prize for Literature Gabriela Mistral, when visited El Salvador in 1931 who impressed by the green color of the water decided named it as the “Emerald of América”. A time for visit Alegría town and enjoy the views of the landscapes on the way. Transfer to the airport on time for your next flight.
Ask for:
- Program with overnights in San Salvador only
Included:
Cómodo transporte, guía profesional de turismo, agua embotellada, entradas a parques nacionales y coordinaciones con autoridades de Medio Ambiente , guías locales, noches de hotel con desayuno incluido, todos los impuestos.
Remarks
- Non included tourism Visa of El Salvador ( USD$10.00 per person by cash at the arrival to the airport)
- Meals non included
What to bring?
- Appropiate clothes ans shoes.
- Hat or cap
- Sunglasses
- Bugs Repelent
- Sunblock
- Extra water
- Snacks o box lunch