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En estas tierras siempre se puede intercambiar con personas muy hospitalarias./ You can always meet hospitable people in these lands.
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El Salvador también conquista al visitante con sus playas. / El Salvador also makes visitors fall in love with its beaches.

EL SALVADOR HOSTED ITS SECOND EDITION OF CENTRAL AMERICA TRAVEL MARKET (CATM), AN EVENT THAT ALLOWED IT TO CAUGHT THE EYES OF PROFESSIONALS FROM EUROPE, BY SHOWCASING ITS MAIN TOURISM APPEALS

El Boqueron, Ceren Gem, such archaeological sites as San Andres, Casa Blanca and Tazumal, Santa Ana, Flowers Route, La Libertad Dock Seafront, San Salvador Historic Core, Jiquilisco Bay and El Salvador’s eastern beaches get beauty lovers to fall in love.
The Tourism Ministry authorities are aware of this reality and they wisely chose these wonders to be shown to 78 travel industry professionals and 26 means of communication that were invited in October to participate in the 11th Central America Travel Market (CATM).
Just like in 2009, when the country accepted to be the venue of the event without any similar experience, El Salvador became the most important travel epicenter in the Central American region, «which has given us the opportunity to show European professionals our main attractions», Jose Napoleon Duarte Duran, Tourism Minister, said.
Within the framework of the event, several tours were organized to take the attendees to destinations that will be certainly heading prestigious catalogs, such as the Flowers Route, one of those magical routes that show visitors the impressive natural, cultural and gastronomic richness of the nation that helped Central American report, in 2016, the arrival of 21.4 million tourists (6.5 percent up if compared to 2015).

GREAT TREASURES
Two areas at the western region of El Salvador have the privilege to make up the Flowers Route, Sonsonate and Ahuachapan, which include five settlements in this deluxe itinerary: Apaneca (the highest city in El Salvador with 1,455 meters above sea level), Juayua (where the Black Christ Church was built over 500 years ago), Ataco (famous for its pedaled looms), Nahuizalco (a native area that stands out for its craftworks and pieces of furniture made of wicker) and Salcoatitan (there the first coffee plantations were established in the country back in 1860).
The journey generally tees off in Nahuizalco for those willing to be captivated by beauty. Nahuizalco is located 70 km away from the country’s capital city. The route engulfs a series of surprises: from the night market where candles are the only source of illumination, to the opportunity of watching huge sculptures at Santa Leticia archaeological site and learning their 25,000 year history; Los Chorros de la Calera waterfall or Las ranas lagoon, before facing the delicacies that are hospitably offered during unrivaled gastronomic festivals.
If travelers are looking for dishes to surprise their palate, they will be driven to La Libertad Port-based tourism complex, built in 2012, with 16 restaurants where seafood is prepared in a way that makes people put their etiquette aside and lick their fingers in a pleasure fiesta, complemented by a picture-perfect view, with those waves that «trigger» gravity and later fall against rocks.
El Boqueron is a dream-like place for those who love lush nature, exotic wildlife, with such representatives as torogoz, tepezcuintle or toucans; and subtropical forests, and enjoy combining intense physical activities with the learning process. That’s the name of the volcano crater in Quezaltepeque, which also comprises peaks Picacho (1,967 meters above sea level) and Jabalí (1,397 meters above sea level), nestled west of San Salvador. People say that there was a lake in that place, but it disappeared after the 1917 eruption and a mini-volcano came up in that place, popularly known as Boqueroncito. People interested in climbing it have to be in excellent shape.
Learning the history of native settlements before the Spanish conquest could be an unforgettable experience. Nobody can be indifferent to the Ceren Gem or San Andres archaeological site, near another amazing place: Tazumal.
Accidentally discovered in 1976 at San Juan Opico municipality, the so-called Ceren Gem suffered the same fate of Roman cities Herculano and Pompey —some people label it as the American Pompey: a community that was suddenly buried in 600 A.C. due to an eruption of Laguna Caldera volcano. A cruel ending that, however, facilitated the finding of a perfectly preserved site (it was covered by ten layers of ash for over 1,400 years), which shed light on the daily life of Middle American farmers, by showing their bedrooms, kitchens or areas devoted to religious ceremonies, warehouses, steam bathrooms, gardens...
San Andres is located only 5 km away from Ceren Gem —Mankind Heritage since 1993—. After analyzing the findings, people believe it was an important Mayan urban center over the Zapotitla Valley. Evidences show that trade operations were carried out there with Copan (Honduras) and Teotihuacan in Mexico, as well as with Belize and Peten (Guatemala).
San Andres is one of those places that will not only position El Salvador as a great destination, but also Central America for its extraordinary natural richness and cultural legacy.