Ruta de las Flores
The Route of the Flowers is very popular in El Salvador. It's a route of some 36 km linking a series of small charming mountain towns. Although its name suggests that flowers can be observed, there were very few of them in the wild along the route.
Juayúa
I stayed in the town of Juayúa for a week around Christmas Day. From this magnificent region, I explored the Route of the Flowers and its attractions.
Chorros de la Calera
From Juayúa, a small hike leads to the Chorros de la Calera, a series of cascades emerging directly from the mountain. Indeed, the water spring forth from the rock face at several locations.
Concepción de Ataco
Ataco is a splendid town where wall paintings are a highlight. Several dozen houses have a wall richly decorated by an artist painter of the region. It's the prettiest towns on the Route of the Flowers.
Nahuizalco
Laguna Verde
Los Ausoles - Ahuachapán
The region around Ahuachapán is famous for its geothermal activity. The site at Los Ausoles is the largest one where a few steaming mud pools can be observed. Watch the video at the end to get a better idea about this natural phenomenon.
The steam escaping from the ground is boiling hot. A geothermal plant, located only a few hundreds metres from the site, produce about 10% of the country electricity from this steam.
Termales de Alicante
Another day doing nothing... in these pools filled with thermal water. The site has ten pools with water varying from very hot to warm.
During the day, I enjoyed the site in the company of some very friendly people, but in the evening, I had the site for myself. In the evening and at night, the chilliness of the mountain air makes the thermic pools even more pleasant.
A small hike leads to the hot water source feeding all the pools.
