Holidays and events
Month | Holiday |
January | Sugar canefestival (in Cojutepeque) Street festival (in Ahuachapán) |
January 16 | Día de los Acuerdos de Paz(= peace celebration on the occasion of the peace treaty between the government and the guerrilla in 1992, which ended the 12-year civil war) |
April | Semana Santa (= Holy Week with parades, nationwide) |
1st of May | Día del trabajo (= International Labor Day) |
May | Flower festival (= folklore parade, in Panchimalco) |
May 03 | Día de la cruz (= day of the cross) |
10th of May | Día de las Madres (= Mother’s Day) |
June | Día de los padres (= Father’s Day)Teachers Day |
July | Santa Ana Festival (= fireworks, dances, parades, in Santa Ana) |
August 1-7 | Fiestas de agosto (= one-week festival in honor of “El Salvador del Mundo”, in San Salvador) |
August 6 | La Bajada (= Descent from the Cross) |
September 15 | Día de la Independencia (= Independence Day of El Salvador, nationwide) |
October | Melissa Festival (in Santa Tecla) |
November | Día de los Muertos (= on this day most people visit the graves of loved ones who have died) Straw Festival (in Zacatecoluco)Carnival (in San Miguel) November 21
: Día de la Reyna de la Paz (= Roman Catholic celebration in honor of the patron saints Country) |
12th of December | Día de los indios (= festival of the indigenous people) |
24th of December | Navidad (= Christmas) |
Source: Countryaah – El Salvador Holidays
Events, night life
If you want to indulge in a lively nightlife, you won’t have to be bored in the capital San Salvador. There are various dance halls, theaters and night clubs in the city, as well as many restaurants and bars. However, some nightclubs require membership. The cocktail bars in the Salvadoran capital are also recommended. Cinemas exist nationwide. Many show English language films with subtitles.
El Salvador: climate
The small country El Salvador is located in the zone of the humid tropics. While the subtropical climate predominates on the plateaus, the tropical “Tierra Caliente” dominates the coastal strips. There is a temperate climate in the mountain regions and in the highlands. An average of 1,830 millimeters of rain falls per year, especially between May and October, i.e. in the rainy season.
Climate table
The stated values are averaged values and are only of limited use for a statement about the expected weather.
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Best travel times
You can travel to El Salvador all year round, although the ideal, dry travel time is between November and May. During this time, however, the daytime temperatures are very high (up to 32 °C) – especially on the coasts – which alternate with pleasant nights (up to 18 °C). For El Salvador you should prepare a light wardrobe, ideally made of cotton or linen. For the cooler evenings, a thin jacket or sweater is very advisable. Sunglasses and hats are compulsory for walks along the coast.
Sights of El Salvador
- Abbreviationfinder.org: Presents the way that SV stands for the nation of El Salvador as a two-letter acronym.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Ruins of Joya de Cerén Classified
by UNESCO as “human heritage”, traces of human life can be traced here up to the moment when the Caldera volcano in 600 AD. broke out and ended life there.
Covered by more than 10 layers of ash, Joya de Cerén, often referred to as the American Pompeii, was gone for 1,400 years. It was only rediscovered by chance in 1976. It is located near San Juan Opico in the west of El Salvador and was a pre-Columbian Mayan village that was well preserved under the volcanic ash.
The settlement of the area began around the year 1200 BC. and the former city was a southeastern outpost of the Mayan culture. A total of 70 buildings have been excavated to date. More important than the buildings, however, are the archaeological finds in the buildings. Presumably the residents were able to flee because no human remains were found. Tools were discovered in the excavated workshops, leftover food in the storehouses and household items and furniture in the dormitories and living quarters. You could even see that the farmers of the time had planted cassava (starchy root tubers).
The ruins were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993.
Major cities in the country
San Salvador
San Salvador has about 550,000 residents and is the largest city and capital of El Salvador. Around 2.3 million people live in the entire metropolitan region, making San Salvador one of the largest cities in Latin America. The city is centrally located inland about 30 km from the Pacific coast at the foot of the San Salvador volcano.
Soyapango
Soyapango has about 300,000 residents and is the second largest city in the country. The city is centrally located inland and is only 7 km from the center of San Salvador and can be counted as part of its metropolitan area.
Santa Ana
Santa Ana is the third largest city in El Salvador with around 250,000 residents. The city in the west of the country is about 20 km from Guatemala. San Miguel San Miguel has around 200,000 residents, making it the fourth largest city in the country. The city in the east of the country is about 40 km away from Honduras.
Special buildings
Palacio Nacional
In San Salvador.
Monument to the Savior of The World
In San Salvador.
Water Clock
In San Salvador.
Monument to the Sea
In San Salvador.
Atlacatl Monument
In San Salvador.
Museums
Museo David J Guzman
This museum is located in San Salvador.
Museo de Arte MARTE
This museum is located in San Salvador.
theatre
Teatro Presidente
This theater is in San Salvador.
Teatro Nacional
This theater is located in San Salvador.
Churches
Catedral Metropolitana de San Salvador
The Cathedral of the Holy Savior is the main church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Salvador and the seat of the Archbishop. She had been visited twice (1983 and 1996) by Pope John Paul II, who said that she was so intertwined with the joys and hopes of the Salvadoran people. On both visits the Pope prayed at Óscar Romero’s tomb, whose tomb is in the cathedral. Archbishop Romero was murdered in 1980. His grave is an important pilgrimage site in the country. In addition to this importance, the imposing church impresses with its festive and colorful facade.
St. Ignatius Loyola
This church in San Salvador was once the shrine of the Virgin of Guadaloupe. The church impresses with its wonderful architecture, where the Spanish colonial facade is particularly striking.
Ruin sites
El Salvador is best known for its ancient ruins that date back to the Maya period. Among these roughly a thousand ruins, there is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Joya de Cerén. Not all ruins are open to the public yet. But those that can be visited usually also include interesting museums that present and explain aspects of indigenous culture.
Some of the most significant ruins in El Salvador are as follows:
Tazumal
The ruins of Tazumal are located west of El Salvador near the city of Chalchuapa and about 78 from San Salvador. The ruins of Tazumal are only one archaeological site of several in the city of Chalchuapa. However, the ruins of Tazumal, with an area of about 10 km², are the largest and best preserved Mayan ruins in El Salvador.
The name Tazumal means something like “The place where the victims were cremated” and thus reflects the importance of the place as a former ceremonial site. The beginning of the settlement of Tazumal is said to have been around 1,200 BC. estimated, but the city’s upswing occurs around the year 100 AD. and Tazumal experienced its heyday in the period from 250 to 900 AD. It can be assumed that the city was built around the year 1200 AD. was left.
In earlier times Tazumal was inhabited by the Maya Pokomam, the Chorti and the Toltec Pipil. The pyramid of Tazumal, which was built in the Toltec style, is said to date from the 6th century AD and can therefore be assigned to the Mayan era of the post-classical period. It has a height of approx. 22 m. Furthermore, the palace and the pyramids of the classical period are very worth seeing.
Joya de Cerén
San Andrés
32 kilometers from San Salvador , in the west of El Salvador, are the Mayan ruins of San Andrés. The settlement of San Andrés began around 900 BC. was interrupted by a volcanic eruption and only around 400 AD. resumed. Between the years 600 and 900 AD. San Andrés developed into the dominion, ceremonial and administrative center of the region and reached its heyday when San Andrés had up to 12,000 residents. The city’s decline probably began in the 10th century and AD 1200. the city was no longer inhabited.
This site is important because of its outstanding finds. These include a religious flint scepter and skulls with tooth inlays. The site also has a colonial workshop for the production of indigo, which was destroyed in the eruption of the Playón volcano in 1658. However, exploration of the former city is mainly focused on the political and ceremonial center.
Casa Blanca
The archeological excavation site Casa Blanca is located in the urban area of Chalchuapa and is one of several in the city of Chalchuapa, as well as the much better known ruins of Tazumal. The former city was from 1500 BC. settled until the arrival of the Spaniards. Casa Blanca has some pyramids that date from the pre-classical and classical periods. A museum also belongs to the park and shows four carved stones, each one meter high.
Traditional
Panchimalco
The Pancho Indians live in Panchimalco, the direct descendants of the Pipil tribe. The Indians have retained many traditions and costumes from their ancestors.
Important universities
U niversidad de El Salvador
The University of El Salvador was founded in 1841, making it the oldest university in the country. The university has the following faculties:
- Agricultural Sciences
- Science and math
- Engineering and Architecture
- Social sciences
- law Sciences
- medicine
- pharmacy
Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas”
The Jose Simeon Cañas Central American University was founded in San Salvador in 1965 and currently has around 8,000 students enrolled. The university has the following faculties:
- Humanities
- Social and Economic Sciences
- Engineering and Architecture
Amusement park
Amusement park on Monte San Jacinto
This wonderful amusement park in San Salvador can be reached with a chair lift. From above there is a wonderful view of the entire capital of El Salvador.
Natural beauties
Lago Coatepeque
The tourist holiday area that has settled around the wonderful Lago Coatepeque is highly recommended. Incidentally, Lago Coatepeque is a crater lake at the foot of the Santa Ana volcano.
Puerta del Diablo
This 1,200 meter high rock formation in San Salvador is called “Devil’s Door” in English. It offers a magnificent view over the capital of the country.
Los Tercios waterfall
near Suchitoto.
Beaches
If you believe the Salvadoran newspaper “El Diario De Hoy”, the 10 main attractions for tourists are the beaches in La Libertad, Ruta Las Flores, Suchitoto, Playa Las Flores in San Miguel, La Palma, Santa Ana (where the largest volcano in the Landes stands), Nahuizalco, Apaneca, Juayua and San Ignacio.