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Tour Description
The trip starts from your hotel, we pickup in San Salvador, Santa Tecla, El Tunco and El Sunzal... or surrounding areas. We pickup aproximately at 9:45am from San Salvador. Then drive aproximately 1 hour to the National Park in Cerro Verde. The difficulty is Hard. We begin in the forest of Cerro Verde, where we descend aprox 1200 stairs down to the Base of Izalco. The ascension is difficult, steep and risky. Its considered a very technical trail where you have to choose your steps very wisely. Ater arriving to the Summit we descend down to the Crater. We can appreciate the stunning views of the Pacific Ocean and the surrounding volcanoes. Then we climb down to the base where we have to ascend the 1200 steps that we descended before... this is the hardest part. Then we go for lunch with view of the Lake Coatepeque and then depart back to leave you in your hotel aprox at 5pm. The weather in El Salvador is beautiful between Dec and May. Then it rains a lot and the visibility is less. The hikes can be cancelled if electrical storms are near or if wind is too strong.
4 Reasons to Choose this Activity
Accesibilities of The Activity
| Food & Drink | We stop at a small store to buy water and snacks, food is available after the hike. |
| Bathrooms | Bathrooms available before the start. No bathrooms once on the trail. |
| Lockers | No Lockers available. You can leave anything you dont need for the hike in the car. |
| Languages | French, Spanish, English |
| What is included? | Roundtrip transportation, tourguide, entrance to the National Park. |
| What is not included | Food, drinks. |
Place Description
The Volcano has a very sharp, conic shape which makes it more steep than Santa Ana. Its highest point is 1950 mts above sea level. The terrain of Volcan Izalco is pure rock, volcanic gravel and sand. No trees on the Volcano, so that means no shade during the hiking of Izalco, but there is an evergreen forest in Cerro Verde you also need to hike through, first on the way down and then on the way up to the Cerro Verde National Park Entrance.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The Volcan Izalco is the youngest volcano in El Salvador. Its a Strato-Volcano born in the year 1770. It made eruption for about 300 years.
The Volcan Izalco is still Active and its last major eruption was in 1966. The uniqueness of this hike is that you can walk inside the Crater. There is a climb-down of about 5-10 meters and then you can put your hands in the active fumes inside the crater.
Sun Block, Sunglasses, Good hiking shoes, 1.5 lts of water, jacket or sweater.
Rainy season is from May through November. Winds can reach 60kms/h on random times of the year. Hikes can be totally or partially cancelled in case of extreme weather or alerts. Temperature on a windy day can feel as low as 18 degrees celsius on the summit.
The hike is extreme, aprox 7kms roundtrip, we start at Cerro Verde, then we descend to the base of Izalco and then up vertical to the summit It takes aprox 1 hour to reach the summit, for an experienced hiker at fast pace.