Exploring the beautiful Ruta de las Flores, El Salvador

Where is the Ruta de las Flores?

The Ruta de las Flores is located in the Western Highlands of El Salvador. The route officially starts in Sonsonate and ends in Ahuachapan but there isn’t a lot to see in these towns.

The five main towns of the Ruta de las Flores are Concepcion de Ataco, Apaneca, Juayua, Salcoatitán and Nahuizalco.

How many days for the Ruta de las Flores?

It is possible to do the Ruta de Flores on a day trip from San Salvador or Santa Ana. However, it would be a very long day and I think that rushing through the towns would take away from a bit of the charm. The Flower Route is best enjoyed slowly. You want to have time to enjoy a cup of coffee and a have a leisurely stroll.

If you only have one day, consider taking a tour or only visiting a few of the towns.

I would recommend 2-3 days to explore the Ruta de las Flores to its fullest. Base yourself in one of the towns and visit another town or two per day. This will give you enough time to explore, do some activities, indulge in the local food and coffee scene and take away any stress of keeping to a tight schedule.

How to get around

You can explore the entire Ruta de las Flores by chicken bus. This is what we did and it was such a fun experience.

Bus 249 runs from Ahuachapan in the north and Sonsonate in the south, stopping at all five towns along the route. Bus 53 is also useful to get between a few of the towns. Fares are really cheap, usually 50 cents per ride. The buses run approximately every 20 minutes.

If you are starting in Santa Ana, read my guide on How to get from Santa Ana to Juayua.

Concepción de Ataco

Concepción de Ataco, or more commonly known as just Ataco, is the first stop on the Ruta de las Flores.

Ataco is known for its vibrant street art and artisanal crafts. You can spend a few hours browsing through the small galleries and shops, where you can purchase unique souvenirs and handicrafts.

The coffee scene in Ataco is really interesting. Make sure you check out one of the boutique cafes. We really enjoyed Geko’s Coffee.

After a coffee, head up the hill to the Mirador de la Cruz for the best view over the town.

Apaneca

Apaneca is the next stop on the Ruta de las Flores. It is a cute and colourful town, but is most famous for the attractions that lay just outside of town.

Cafe Albania is home to the rainbow slide, bike zipline and the giant hedge maze. If you do a guided tour of the Ruta de las Flores, it will likely stop at Cafe Albania. It is one of the most touristic places to visit along the Ruta de las Flores, especially popular with domestic tourists. There are more tourists, but there are still not many at all. We enjoyed our visit there and went to the hedge maze which was a bit of silly fun.

Another popular stop is the El Carmen Estate where you can take a guided tour of the coffee plantation. The tour costs $7 and can be booked here.

Juayúa

Juayúa is the largest town on the Ruta de las Flores. If you’re planning on spending a couple of days in the area, Juayúa is a great place to base yourself.

I instantly fell in love with Juayúa. It is lush and green, the locals are incredibly friendly and the culture is vibrant. The whole town comes alive on Saturdays and Sundays for the weekly food festival. We had an excellent afternoon watching local musicians busk while we enjoyed delicious Salvadorian cuisine. Try to plan your visit to the Ruta de las Flores so you get to visit the Juayúa Food Festival.

Salcoatitán

Salcoatitan is one of the smallest towns along the route. It is quaint and charming. There isn’t as much to do as the other towns, but the ancient Ceiba tree in the centre of town is worth a look.

The laid-back atmosphere and friendly locals make Salcoatitán a perfect place to slow down and appreciate the simple pleasures of small town life in El Salvador. However, if you are short on time, this would be one of the town’s along the Ruta de las Flores that you could skip.

Nahuizalco

Nahuizalco is the final stop on the Ruta de las Flores. It is cute and colourful and is known for its night market.

We explored Nahuizalco during the day, and I think we might have missed the best part of the town, the night market. I wasn’t very impressed with Nahuizalco compared to the other towns, however we met a few people that visited the night market and really enjoyed it.

My advice is if you are short on time, you can probably skip Nahuizalco. Better yet, stay a few days along the Flower Route so that you can visit Nahuizalco in the evening.

When to visit the Ruta de las Flores

The best time to visit the Ruta de las Flores is when the flowers are in bloom. This is typically in the Spring time between November and February.

We visited the Flower Route as part of a long trip through Central America so were not able to line up our visit with Spring. We visited in September and although it wasn’t the recommended time, it was still incredibly beautiful. It was excellent weather and there were enough flowers throughout the towns to make the Ruta seem worthy of its name.

Where to stay along the Ruta de las Flores

The largest town on the Ruta de las Flores is Juayúa, which is a great place to base yourself. We spent three nights in Juayúa and explored the neighbouring towns slowly. Even spending one night is worth it. If you have the time, consider also spending a night in one of the other towns for a real taste of small town El Salvador.

These are our top picks for where to stay in Juayua.

Budget – Hostal Dona Mercedes is a great budget accommodation option in Juayúa. There’s nothing fancy about this hostel but it is clean, cheap and conveniently located. Perfect for a night or two.

Mid-range – Orquidea Loft is a cozy one bedroom apartment that is well-located close to lots of restaurants and bars. The apartment is clean and the bed is really comfortable.

High-end – For something a bit nicer, check out the Hotel Juayua. This beautiful boutique hotel is just on the outskirts of town but still walking distance to everywhere you need. There is a gorgeous pool with epic mountain views.

Other great accommodation options along the Ruta de las Flores include:

Casa Degraciela in Ataco is the perfect place to base yourself to explore the Flower Route. If you only have one night and want to experience a smaller town, this hotel is exceptionally well-rated and pack fulled of charm.

Is El Salvador safe?

Only a few years ago the answer to this question would have been very different. Gang violence dominated the country, and while the violence was never directed at tourists, it still meant El Salvador was not high on most travel bucket lists. Even those travelling through Central America tended to skip past El Salvador and stick to more stable countries in the region.

In 2019, the country elected a new President who brought with him drastic change. The gangs that once ran not just the streets, but the country, were rounded up and imprisoned en masse. Some estimates say almost 80,000 people have been arrested over the past few years, including some kids as young as 12.

International human rights groups have been extremely critical of this drastic move, as many of the prisoners are still awaiting trial. There has been outcry from the international community and the President has been condemned by other world leaders.

However, within El Salvador, it is really difficult to find someone that has anything but praise for their President and the changes he has brought to the country. Generations of people that had been living in fear, now feel safe to leave their houses, to enjoy their towns, to picnic in parks.

And now the safety is bringing with it tourism which provides ways for local people to make money and boost local economies. The people in El Salvador are some of the most friendly people that I have come across anywhere in the world. I think that a part of this stems from them just being so excited to see tourists in their country again. I was approached many times by complete strangers offering assistance and welcoming me to El Salvador.

So now when someone asks me is El Salvador safe, I feel so excited to be able to tell them that it is.