Welcome to El Salvador! A new country with a new landscape, or is it? We climb the next volcano after Acatenango in Guatemala. During our first few kilometers in El Salvador, we are positively impressed by this country. El Salvador seems tidier and the roads are in much better condition than we would have expected. We make rapid progress after crossing the border and reach the Santa Ana volcano, or Ilamatepec in its old name, on our second day in El Salvador.

Ascent to the crater rim of the Santa Ana volcano

After a pleasantly quiet night at a campsite at the foot of Ilamatepec, we set off early in the morning to climb up to the crater rim before the larger guided tourist groups.

However, our plan is abruptly thwarted by dutiful employees of the national park who refuse to sell us entry to the park without us booking a guide to make the ascent. In contrast to the strenuous climb up Acatenango, where we were also dependent on help, especially in the dark, the climb up the Santa Ana volcano is comparatively easy. After half an hour of discussion and when the head of the team was at site, we were finally able to set off on our hike. Without a guide, as luckily for us or unluckily for them, there was no guide ready to start the tour early on Monday morning at 07:30. The normal tourist groups, which arrive by bus, don’t normally arrive at the entrance to the national park until around 9am.

The volcano is not very high, at 2381 meters it is easy to climb from the campsite at 1800m. After just over an hour, we are already on the crater rim. We have a beautiful view over the nearby lake and into the crater lake. We are really glad to be out and about so early without the crowds. Nature is at its most peaceful when there aren’t 40 people buzzing around you.

The volcano is a beautiful excursion, even if it doesn’t have any extreme features. The panoramic view over El Salvador is fantastic and just as we start our descent, the first group of 20 people arrives on the crater rim. For this time: everything done right!