Deeply rooted in religion
Despite its rough-edged rep, tiny El Salvador – located on the Pacific, south of Guatemala – is actually the great Latin American secret. New reports spill out about gang violence, but out in the welcoming artsy towns in the mountains or the surf breaks on the Pacific, you’ll find that El Salvador’s really a softy. A two-hour bus ride down from San Salvador, La Libertad is a rad surf town, with the famed La Punta Roca break; there are plenty of surf villages up the coast along the Pacific’s La Costa del Balsamo. Inland looms a mix of artsy mountain villages with handicrafts markets and colorful wildflowers, often near mountain trails with puma tracks and tempting names like "El Imposible." Go to cobblestoned Suchitoto (90 minutes north of San Salvador) for arts fairs and horseback rides to old revolutionary hideouts. Meanwhile, the quiet Ruta de Las Flores (a couple hours west of San Salvador) is a quiet patchwork of mountain villages scented with fresh coffee beans, while high-up Alegría (a few hours to the east) is the country’s flower-growing capital. It all can be seen by bus, though rental cars are also an option.
