El Salvador

El Salvador's Pacific coast delivers consistent point breaks fed by South Pacific swells from March to October, with warm water year-round (27-29 degrees Celsius) and no wetsuit required. El Tunco is the epicentre — a small beach town of black volcanic sand with breaks for beginners and intermediates, surf schools, board rental, cheap hostels and a nightlife that draws backpackers from across Central America. El Sunzal, ten minutes away, has a long clean right ideal for progressing surfers. Punta Roca at La Libertad is a world-class right point break for advanced riders. Las Flores on the eastern coast offers solitude and quality waves away from the crowds.

The Santa Ana volcano (Ilamatepec, 2,381 metres) is one of Central America's most rewarding day hikes — a four-to-five-hour climb to a crater holding a turquoise sulphuric acid lake, with views across to Guatemala on clear days. A mandatory guide accompanies all groups. Lake Coatepeque, a cobalt-blue crater lake surrounded by steep forested walls, is the weekend escape for San Salvador residents — swimming, kayaking and lakeside dining. The Izalco volcano, a near-perfect cone that erupted continuously from 1770 to 1966, is climbable from the Cerro Verde viewpoint. El Boqueron National Park on the outskirts of San Salvador offers a quick crater-rim walk above the capital.

The Ruta de las Flores winds through the western highlands between Nahuizalco, Juayua, Apaneca and Ataco — small colonial towns surrounded by coffee fincas producing some of Central America's finest Bourbon and Pacamara specialty beans. Juayua hosts a weekend food festival (Feria Gastronomica) that fills the town square with regional dishes. Ataco is known for its colourful street murals, indigo-dyeing workshops and artisan galleries. Apaneca offers zip-lining over the cloud-forest canopy. Finca visits include the full bean-to-cup process — picking, wet processing, drying, roasting and cupping.

Joya de Ceren (UNESCO) is unique in the Maya world. Around 600 AD, the eruption of Loma Caldera buried a farming village under metres of volcanic ash, preserving houses, kitchens, storage jars, sleeping platforms, a communal sweat bath and even cultivated fields of manioc and maize — the level of domestic detail is unmatched at any other pre-Columbian site. Tazumal, near Santa Ana, has a restored 24-metre stepped pyramid from the Maya Classic period. San Andres, between San Salvador and Santa Ana, combines ruins with a small museum in a quiet setting.

The pupusa — a thick handmade corn (or rice) tortilla stuffed with cheese, refried beans, chicharron (pork crackling), loroco (an edible flower bud endemic to Central America) or revueltas (mixed filling) — is the national dish, the national obsession, and one of the best-value meals in the Americas at fifty cents to a dollar fifty each. Pupuserias are on every block in every town. They come with curtido (a tangy fermented cabbage slaw) and thin tomato salsa. The Dia Nacional de la Pupusa falls on the second Sunday of November and is celebrated with giant pupusas and competitive eating. Beyond pupusas: yuca frita with chicharron, atol de elote (warm sweet corn drink), tamales wrapped in banana leaves, and sopa de pata (cow-foot soup).