There are a number of places where you can connect to the internet in Juayua. These cybercafes charge for the amount of time that you are connected, and although the speeds aren’t very fast, you can still manage to connect and read email. Voice and video chat functions don’t work too well, as there isn’t enough bandwidth to handle it.

For connecting to the internt in Juayua try these three internet cafes:

Cyber y Equipment

1a. Av. Sur 1-2, Barrio San José
Tel.: 2452-2769

Nautilus Cyber Shop

Calle Merceditas Cáceres y 2a. Av. Norte
Tels.:2452-2343, 2226-4374
cor07_1@hotmail.com

En El Yei

Calle Merceditas Cáceres No. 13, Centro Comercial La Futurista. Tel. 2452-2214

There are plenty of good things to eat in El Salvador, but if you’re like me at all, you crave variety. Well, while in Juayua you can get all the variety you want at the food festival on the weekends (minus the veggies, as it is a pretty meat focused spread), during the week you might be craving something a little more… Mexican.

If that happens check out Taqueria Guadalupana where you can get all the best of fajitas, pollo en mole, poblano, guacamole, nachos, and puyaso. Wash it down with mezcal, torito pinto, a nice cold beer or a margarita!

Taqueria Guadalupana does what it does well; serves decent Mexican fare in a little town in El Salvador. It is located on 2a Calle Oriente, one block from the Oriente de la Alealdia. Call 2452–2195 or email taqueriaguadalupana@juayua.com for more information.

Click here for more information here.

Heading up the mountain of Apaneca you will pass through San Juan de Dios, a small coffee oriented community. Just beyond the city you will come to Finca El Portezuelo, which is a farm that runs a variety of tours in the mountainous region.

From Finca El Portezuelo you can take a hiking tour up through the mountains into the cloud forest, where there are amazing wild orchid gardens and other plant life. The hike takes you through coffee plantations and ravines, ending in a series of geishers. The mud from the geishers is said heal the skin, and that combined with a nice soak in the hotsprings melts away the outside world.

If you like horses Finca El Portezuelo has 17 peruvian horses used for horseback tours. In case the walking isn’t for you, the horses can take you up into the mountains to experience the true beauty of the Apaneca region.

The Finca El Portezuelo runs a nice little set-up, and they handle pretty much any tours you want up in the mountains. They also serve coffee and tea, and bring snacks along on their tours.

For more information on the tours offered at Finca El Portezuelo, click here.

Juayua is one of the best places for eco-tourism in El Salvador – in all of Central America actuallly. The landscapes are incredible, yes, but what makes it so great is that it is still a virtual unknown in comparison to countries like Costa Rica and Panama.

Juayua in particular is popular among tourists that come to El Salvador, but honestly the amount of people who end up here are quite few. The country is still a little more rugged than other popular eco-tourism destinations, but for many, that makes it all the more fun.

In Juayua it is a good idea to ask at your hotel guest for a local guide. Sure, you can hike around yourself, but a guide brings so much more to the trip. They can provide you with a history of the area, give you an insider’s view of the region, and help you not to miss important aspects of the Salvadoran countryside. Local guides really know about their region, and the passion that they share is infectious. If you stay at Hotel El Mirador, it is possible your guide will be Juan Pablo. A bit of advice: if he tells you it is a long walk… it is a really long walk! All the more fun!

Guides are also a good idea because not all areas are 100% safe, haveing a knowledgeable, helpful, fun and friendly guide can make trekking so much more enjoyable.

As far as hikes go, make sure you head to Los Chorros, The Green Lagoon and the Lagood of the Nymphs.

There are lots of little places you can stay in Juayua – one that comes highly recommended is El Mirador. It is run by a local family, and Jose, the head of the household is always around, and always ready to help out.

Everyone pitches in to get things done, which makes staying here like being completely pampered, but in the comforts of your own home… sort of. Rooms are clean and the food at the hotel’s restaurant is great, all done by the same people! The restaurant also offers an incredible view of the city and the surrounding landscape.

Everyone is really helpful with making sure you are comfortable, and enabling you to really enjoy your stay in Juayua. If you ask at the desk, they will help you to arrange visits to must see places, set you up with an experienced and trustworthy guide, and ensure you are having the best possible time.

Accomodations are basic, but comfortable. Beds are good, cable TV is included (although I hope you don’t come all this way to stay inside and watch the boob toob!) Hot water is included.

Hotel El Mirador is locaed on calle 4a pte 4–4 in the Town Center. Visit www.elmiradorjuayua.com for more information.

Single rooms start at $17.50 and the family room is $60 a night. (There is also a dorm style room for backpackers which costs $7.00 per person per night.) And make sure and tell them if it’s your honeymoon: for $85.00 a night you get the honeymoon suite with room service, breakfast and lunch included and a free bottle of wine.

The web-site actually has a REALLY cool map on how to get there, with links to photos included, so you can really get an idea of where you are headed.

The most popular first stop on the Ruta de los Flores is Juayua. It is most famous for it’s food festival held every weekend, with tons of different dishes to choose from, most of them being carnivorous.

Make sure you plan a trip to Juayua on the weekend to make sure you get to take part in this fabulous event.

Another fun thing to do in Juayua is visit the Coffee Museum in the nearby town called San Jose La Majada. They have a little guided tour that takes you through the coffee mill and shows you the process of making coffee. The museum is across the street from the processing plant, where you might see a Starbucks truck or two.

 In this rich coffee region it is hard to pass up a trip to a coffee farm. The museum curator is Ms.Beltran, ans she also does a lot of the tours, which give you a bit of insight into the people of the region with a history of coffee farming, production and exportation. At the end of the tour you can purchase souveniers (coffee from El Salvador that was actually bought there instead of at Starbucks) while enjoying a drink and a snack on the outdoor patio.

If you would like you can also see if it is possible to tour the production plant, which ships 30–40% of its coffee straight to Starbucks. The plant is required to follow a lot of rules set forth by Starbucks to ensure that the coffee meets organic standards. Coffee beans going to Starbucks are dried on large cement pads and shipped raw to be roasted by the company, where as other beans are roasted right there at the plant.

The short trip from Juayua up to San Jose de Majada is definitely worth it, especially if you are a coffee lover.

To get to Juayua from San Salvador you can take the CA-8 highway out of Sonsonate to Ahuachapán. If you are going by bus then get the 205 from San Salvador to Sonsonate and in Sonsonate get the 249 headed toward Ahuachapán. Get off in Juayua.

After Nahuizalco the next stop of the Ruta de las Flores is Salcoatitán. It is famous for being the first home to coffee plantations back in the 1860s and coffee is still the village’s primary source of income.

Although Salcoatitán isn’t a particularly large town, it does draw a number of visitors since it is on the Ruta de las Flores. As with Nahuizalco one of the major attractions for tourists are the local arts and crafts.

Salcoatitán is home to some very talented artists that create works of art out of everything! (Even the homes… take a stroll down the streets to enjoy the brightly painted homes.) There are also a number of art galleries that feature local artists. Here is where you can find all the best crafts to either decorate your home in El Salvador, or take back as souvenirs.

Common purchases in the mountain town of Salcoatitán include woven reed crafts, such as baskets, embroidered dresses, eco-art and paintings and sculptures. The clothing is all pretty neat, made with naturally dyed fabrics and what not, but it isn’t really something you would do anything with. Pretty to look at though.

Salcoatitán gets skipped over by many people on their way up to Juayua, but it is nice to stop for lunch and a quick trip through the arts and crafts galleries, which are newer to the area.

To get to Salcoatitán by car take the CA-8 that goes from Sonsonate to Ahuachapán. If you are coming by bus take the 205 from San Salvador to Sonsonate, then in Sonsonate take the 249 to Ahuachapán and get off in Salcoatitán.

If you are headed to Nahuizalco within the next 5–10 days you are just in time to celebrate the patron saint festival in honor of San Juan Bautista, as well as the annual arts and crafts festival. The 5 day fesitval is held annually from June 20–25.

San Juan Bautista is the namesake for the Nahuizalco Chapel which was built in 1859. It is an interesting archaeological site, which is home to several graves. (In colonial times, before cemetaries, they buried people in the church!) Several tombs have already been discovered, and many people hold to the belief that another temple or grave might exist underneath the floor.

During the festival the whole town lights up! Local furniture, arts and crafts are for sale on every corner, along with a plate of cooked yucca. (Something I swear you will miss when you leave El Salvador.)

In addition to the selling of crafts there are also some special performances, including folkloric dances performed by historians that portray the Spanish royalty and tell the story of the Moorish invasion of Spanish.

Once you’ve made it into town, you’ll want to peruse the little furniture shops in Nahuizalco and you should! You’ve got plenty of time to walk around town and wait for night fall when you can visit the night market, a true cultural treat!

At nightfall villagers turn on their lights and illuminate the produce, arts, crafts and food for sale on the many stands. My tip for the night market is this: come hungry! While the crafts and produce are good, the food is great! Not only is it all traditional Salvadoran fare, you are eating it at a nighttime market.

As far as the local cuisine goes some of the most common market choices are los ticucos, which are ground corn tamales, iguana soup, and yucca served with pork cheek. My personal favorite is the chilate con nuegados (yucca balls in a sweet sauce), washed  down with atol shuco, a traditional ground corn beverage. The food isn’t crazy exotic like the food festivals in Juayua, but it is good.

The market is open at about 2 pm, but wait until it gets dark for a real special treat. It closes at about 10 pm, after which you can head to the arcade and play Virtual Fighter II with the local kids.

The Route of the Flowers is one of the most popular destinations in El Salvador. One of the first stops on the journey into the department of Sonsonate is Nahuizalco, a town at the base of the Sierra Apaneca-Itlamatepec. It is famous for its native community and their massive production of arts and crafts.

The town is full of little stores boasting high quality local artwork and wicker and reed baskets. Nahuizalco is most famous for its furniture, which is the pride of the people, hand-crafted into a variety of exquisite designs from Indian shot, cedar and bay wood.

The prices are very reasonable – everyone in this town makes furniture! It is a family art that has been handed down from generation to generation. Workshops line the highway as you enter town, and once you get into town there are several shops on the right hand side of the road. Many choose to drive in from the city to purchase their furniture in Nahuizalco.

The Route of the Flowers begins in Nahuizalco, which is 5 km north of Sonsonate along Highway 8, and about 70 km west of San Salvador off of Highway 1. By car take Highway 1 out of San Salvador to Highway 8 up on to Nahuizalco. You will see the signs.

If you are traveling by bus take the 205 from San Salvador to Sonsonate. Once in Sonsonate take the 53D. It will drop you off in the central park of Nahuizalco.

More on Nahuizalco and the fun things to do there to come!