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Central America
El Salvador

Western El Salvador

Western is a region of the country that is mostly rural, with colonial mountain villages, coffee plantations, and towering volcanoes.
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Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.

Essential Destinations

Top destinations include San Salvador and Santa Ana.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.
is the capital city of , approximately in the center of the country in a valley near the base of the volcano. It provides a good base for exploring the rest of the country as it's a transportation hub, with most major roads running through it due to its central location.

Photo: Mariordo, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is the second largest city of and a very important one in terms of agriculture and coffee production. Its historic center offers some of the best preserved architecture in El Salvador, including the Cathedral of , a marvel…

Photo: Mariordo, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is an archaeological site in Western El Salvador. It was a Mayan village that was buried under tons of lava when the nearby San Salvador Volcano erupted in 600 AD.

Destinations to Discover

Explore places such as Ahuachapan and Sonsonate.

Photo: YessicaGuerra19, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a small city in the western highlands of . With its scenic colonial center and range of services for the traveler, it is a popular stop on the country's Ruta de las Flores, a well-known tourism route through mountainous small towns.

Photo: Stvn87, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a city of 73,000 people in southwestern , near . Holy week is celebrated throughout Latin America, but the celebrations are particularly fervent in .

Photo: randreu, CC BY 3.0.
is a city and a municipality in the La Libertad department of . It is the capital of the department of La Libertad. The city was named after Saint Thecla who was a saint of the early Christian Church, and a reported follower of Paul of Tarsus in the 1st century AD.

Photo: Ernesto561, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a town and district in the of . It is the capital of the department. As of 1 May 2021, Alfredo Hernández of Nuevas Ideas is the municipality's mayor.

Photo: Roberto Alas, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a small Pacific coast city in Western El Salvador. It is the main port for , is a regionally important transportation hub, and is increasingly popular among tourists who come for the mellow vibe of the town and for the beautiful beaches known for calmer waters than most Pacific coast beaches in Central America.

Photo: ElmerGuevara, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Cerro is the highest point in El Salvador at 2730 meters. It is in the country's western highlands.

Photo: ARamirez69, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is an archaeological site in Western El Salvador. It is a fairly small, but well maintained and easily visited site for what was once a major city-state.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.
Surf's up in , the most popular surfer's beach in . It's also got a great malecon for evening strolls, with several good seafood restaurants with ocean views and spectacular sunsets.

Photo: ElmerGuevara, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a town of about 7,700 people in . It has become an important tourist destination partly due to its well-conserved colonial architecture and cobblestone roads that provide a sense of Spanish colonial living.

Photo: feinteriano, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a small town in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountains of Western El Salvador. It is a colonial small town where time stands still, where cobblestone streets are filled with stone buildings that might seem to have stepped out of a history book if it weren't for the vividly colorful and often fanciful murals that cover walls on almost every street in town.

Photo: Efegé, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a small town in the mountains of Western El Salvador. The town is known for keeping indigenous traditions alive and for its local hand crafts. It is one of the towns on the popular Ruta de las Flores tourist itinerary.

is a town in Western El Salvador. It is known for its weekly gastronomic festivals and is a popular stop along El Salvador's Ruta de las Flores.

Photo: Metztli, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a small village in with some great big attractions for adventurous travelers. There's mountains, forests, and two nearby volcanoes for the hikers and outdoor enthusiasts.

Photo: ElmerGuevara, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a 5,000-hectare protected natural area in western on the border with neighboring . It is a beautiful national park consisting of dense, dry tropical rainforest.

is a small town in the mountainous highlands of Western El Salvador. The town is a quiet, scenic small town known for its slow pace and its weekly food festival in the town square.

Photo: ElmerGuevara, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a large protected, heavily forested area in Western El Salvador. The park encompasses about 2,000 hectares of misty cloud forest.

Photo: ElmerGuevara, CC BY-SA 4.0.
is an archaeological site in Western El Salvador. It was once a large Mayan city-state that reached its peak in the early Post-Classic period around 900-1200 AD.

Western El Salvador

Latitude of center
13.87° or 13° 52′ 12″ north
Longitude of center
-89.25° or 89° 15′ west
Wiki­data ID
Q14925057
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Satellite Map

Discover Western El Salvador from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
© Stadia Maps, Airbus DS, CNES, PlanetObserver, and Copernicus

In Other Languages

From Chinese to Slovenian—“Western El Salvador” goes by many names.
  • Chinese: “西萨尔瓦多”
  • Italian: “El Salvador occidentale”
  • Japanese: “西エルサルバドル”
  • Slovenian: “Zahodni Salvador”

El Salvador: Must-Visit Destinations

Delve into San Miguel, Morazán, La Unión, and San Francisco Gotera.

Explore These Curated Destinations

Discover places selected for their distinct character and enduring appeal.
About Mapcarta. Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikivoyage page “Western El Salvador”. Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.