11 fun things to do in Ruta de las Flores

Our planet is filled with numerous outstanding and breath-taking places that are only waiting to be seen and explored. With so much to do and experience, I bet it gets hard to choose where to go, especially when the time to pick up where to spend our holidays gets closer.

All year long we daydream about where to spend our well-deserved vacation and the type of activities we could enjoy. But, when it’s time to choose, we are just overwhelmed with the number of beautiful locations we could pick from.

Usually, we tend to look for a destination that can provide us pretty much with everything: picturesque landscapes, delicious food to taste along the journey, culture, traditions, people to meet and to talk to on the road, and most importantly create many unforgettable moments.

If reading all this had put a wide smile on you, then I must tell you that El Salvador is the destination for you! Located in Central America, between Guatemala and Honduras, this small state has nothing to envy to its neighbours.

El Salvador offers some of the most magnificent places to visit on Earth. Natural sceneries, beautiful beaches, crystal clear waters, and colourful colonial towns filled with history and tradition are the ingredients for an unforgettable vacation.

There is no fear to state that El Salvador is a country that deserves to be visited and seen at least once in a lifetime.

The number of activities to enjoy are infinite but, today I want to tell you about “La Ruta de Las Flores”, a route through which visitors will get to live and experience the true and ancient history and culture of El Salvador.

About La Ruta de Las Flores

Located on the Western side of the country, “La Ruta de Las Flores”, also known as the Route of Flowers, owes its name to the enormous variety of wildflowers present along the route. While traveling along la Ruta, travellers can visit different towns, each one of them with its characteristics and particularities.

What these towns share is the presence of colourful colonial buildings, indigenous history, and vast coffee plantations. Get ready to taste the World’s most delicious coffee, enjoy a day of traditional souvenir shopping at local shops all while admiring gorgeous natural sceneries.

Get ready to explore towns of La Ruta de Las Flores.

Nahuizalco

Walking around this town is a continuous discovery of the indigenous culture, locals’ traditions and values. Lose yourself in the middle of the streets filled with artisans immersed in the creation of traditional handicrafts such as baskets and other goods made of wood and palms.

While shopping around, do not forget to look around and admire the vivid traditional Pipil clothes worn by the women of the town. Stop by The Nahuatl Pipil Memorial Museum, where historical artifacts and more pieces of evidence of the life of the indigenous of this area will teach you about the most important events that touched this town.

At night, the “night market”, is a must-see place as it’s where travellers go to taste Nahuizalco’s delicacies and purchase some of the traditional products made of wicker and tule.

When you are ready for an adventure in the middle of nature, then is time to get your most comfortable shoes on and visit “La Cascada de la Golondrina”, a waterfall that has become the most visited natural attraction of the area.

After a walk to reach the waterfall, nature lovers will be welcomed by this 40-meter-high waterfall and the amazing variety of plants and wild animals surrounding it.

Salcoatitan

Salcoatitan, the city of Quetzalcoatl, The God of wind and the star of Dawn, is the meaning of the name of this town in the Nahuatl language. This is not only a city filled with art galleries and exhibitions, which is perfect for art lovers but is also famous for the huge variety of delicious dishes to taste, especially in Plaza de Armas.

First of all, you have to taste the delightful coffee, a product of the surrounding plantations. Coffee is not the only thing you must try. The atol de elote, a drink made with milk, corn, cinnamon, and sugar is a representative drink of the country.

Another must thing to do, is trying the yuca for which the city is known at both national and international level.

Delicious recipes, at central plaza in front of the Colonial Church (recently rebuilt) will allow you to taste some of the most pleasant plates, such as tamales, and riguas, a snack made of corn.

Juayua

Along La Ruta de Los Flores, we encounter the small town of Juayua. The first reason to visit this town is certainly to eat! Yes, for all those foodies out there, you must visit the town during the weekend when “La Feria Gastronomica” takes place.

This is a free event, and typical food can be directly bought from the vendors. For example, El Chorilonzo is a combination of two different sausages, chorizo, and longaniza.

Other than eating a lot of delicious dishes, Juayua has some of the most picturesque waterfalls. For an exciting and adventurous hike, go to the tourist center to look for a guide who will take you to tour the Seven Waterfalls, the most popular hike in the area.

This six-hour hike will take you through fincas, and landscapes surrounded by nearby volcanoes and visit all the outstanding waterfalls. For a much easier hike, tourists can opt for visiting Los Chorros de la Calera waterfalls.

To reach, it will only take you 20 minutes from the town’s center and there is no need of a guide.

Apaneca

Once you get to Apaneca, you reached the most active city of the entire Ruta, filled with so many activities to enjoy and experience.

First of all, you have to look around you, as you will see the most colourful buildings of the entire journey and when walking along the streets, do not forget to look at the stunning mosaics decorating the intersections.

While in this town you have to visit Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon) and the best way to do it is by renting an ATV. Beautiful landscapes and adrenaline combine to give the perfect exciting activity.

The ATVs will take you to both the Green Lagoon and the Lagoon of the Nymphs. You cannot miss visiting El Café de Albania, where you can either eat at the Café or try to test your abilities at the Labyrinth, made of 2000 trees.

Do not forget to test your limits and experience getting on a zip-line, or a bike zipline in Apaneca all possible at this Café Albania.

Ataco

Concepcion de Ataco, or simply Ataco, is one, if not the top attraction along La Ruta de Las Flores. Ideal town for those who enjoy a colder climate.

Ataco has been founded by indigenous people preceding the Columbian Pipil Indians and is picturesque murals, scattered around the city, have made it a must place to stop by; even Salvadorian come during the weekend to enjoy a day here far from the city’s noise.

Walk on the streets and admire the bright and cheerful murals realized by local artists. Historical moments, local ceremonies, traditional values are some of the many themes you will discover when looking at these vivid walls.

Do not miss enjoying some of the most delicious locally grown coffee through a Coffee Tour. This will take you around local farms to discover how coffee is grown, processed, roasted, and packed.

It’s a unique experience as the best type of coffee in the entire country comes from the areas surrounding Ataco.

Walking around the different locations scattered along La Ruta de Las Flores is an experience that provides you with many different activities to choose from.

Does not matter what type of traveller are you, along this journey, you will find an activity that will not only satisfy your sense of curiosity but most importantly it will allow you to visit some of the most picturesque locations of El Salvador.