For our final day in El Salvador, we wanted to do part of the “Ruta de Flores” aka the Flower Route, a trail of art and indigenous history throughout the country. There are defined tours for this route, but since they’re typically a full day (and when we heard the Salvadoreño on our archeology tour say “full day” we knew this meant 16+ hours, not 8) we opted to do a bit of a “choose your own adventure” which our driver was more than happy to oblige (we still paid him for the 16 hours, since it was a fixed price!). After quite a bit of research, we decided that we would visit Suchitoto, which is located to the northeast of the country, just across the lake from the province of El Salvador that borders Honduras.

Part of the reason for the lengthy day if you do the whole Ruta de Flores trek is that you backtrack about 2 hours (crossing both San Salvador and Santa Ana) to get to the remaining villages, which are all on the west side (the other reason the defined tours is so long is that they include things like a giant hedge maze, a 100-foot rainbow slide, and ziplining, none of which especially appealed to us, especially after wrapping up a 13-hour tour the day before). We were interested in several of the other sites (Ataco has beautiful murals and Nahuizalco used to have a great museum about the Pipil indigenous group, among other interesting attractions) but ultimately decided to return to Centro Histórico in San Salvador in the afternoon and have no regrets about that choice!

Our driver, Ever (pronounced E-ver), picked us up bright and early, and, after explaining that we wanted to pay him for ~16 hours of work while only asking for 8, our guide was very happy to oblige. We began making our way to Suchitoto despite our not-yet-caffeinated Spanish (we had a good laugh with the waitress after trying to say “we don’t need the lid” for a coffee cup as “no necesitamos la cabeza de copa” – turns out ‘lid’ is tapadera). First up, we passed both the local, private airport (apparently they host an air show for private pilots every year), as well as the other major lake in El Salvador, Lake Ilopango. Unlike the one we saw on our archeological tour, this was a man made lake. Our driver explained that El Salvador relies quite heavily on geothermal energy, given the prevalence of volcanoes in the country.

He also pointed out several vendors selling giant squash – apparently these are delicious in cold soups. As we got chatting, we learned quite a bit and also noticed some interesting quirks of Salvadoreño Spanish, including:

• Salvadoreños use “Let me tell you” as a VERY common filler, both in Spanish and when they translate into English (we thought this was just a personal quirk of our tour guide at the National Palace, but it was pretty pervasive)
• “Bastante” is a signifier of more than enough, way more than needed in El Salvador – in most other places, it usually means “enough” or “sufficient”
• Almost everything is shortened – we had a good laugh after our driver asked us something that clearly referred to a place he knew we’d been but we weren’t parsing at all what he was saying. After several rounds of back and forth, we realized he had shortened the name of our hotel and, duh, of course we knew the answer to his associated question!

He also shared interesting tidbits about some of the sights we’d seen so far throughout El Salvador, such as:

• The many fried chicken chains are as popular as you’d expect to sustain so many; Pollo Campestre is the only Salvadoreño brand; Pollo Campania is from neighboring Guatemala and Pollo Don Julio is a cheaper version of that chain
• The bus colors refer to different districts – I have a whole breakdown about this in the Centro Histórico blog; while there are formal bus stops along the roads, most buses don’t use them since the stops don’t actually have the proper merge zones around them to make them worth using
• When asked about the superstore we saw in Santa Ana that had the car, stoves, and refrigerators for cheaper prices than we expected, he basically said that these were either super discounted or likely lower value models (or lower value brands – we bonded for a bit over preference for LG appliances vs. Samsung and bemoaned the emergence of ‘smart’ appliances like Smart Fridges)
• He confirmed that everyone in El Salvador loves pizza, especially since it’s a great value deal
• There aren’t as many museums as you’d expect, and certainly not for big events like the war; he mentioned a few places (including Suchitoto) where we could do a bit of learning about the war, but otherwise could only recommend a few movies on the subject

Interestingly, as we got closer to Suchitoto, our guide pointed out unexploded ordinances still casually planted along the roadside (this one was in someone’s yard!). During the civil war, this area was especially impacted, with thousands of people displaced and many more killed. Ever, our driver, mentioned that entire villages “disappeared” (this was worsened by his point-blank delivery). When planning our route, we’d read that a former tour company actually offered “guerra tours” which would take tourists on hikes through the jungle and even into the many caves just to surrounding Suchitoto to see where the guerillas had lived and where much of the fighting took place. Those tours no longer run, but several shop keepers mentioned it to us in passing – one even joked we should get lunch in one of the cave restaurants! It’s amazing how nearly anything can be turned into a tourist attraction.

Of course, we saw plenty of buses! I go into significant detail about them in the Centro Histórico, San Salvador blog, but suffice to say that the colors help determine which region they’re traveling to (green for La Libertad to the south / southwest, red and white for Centro, and yellow, I assume, for the northeast of the country near Suchitoto, since we didn’t see many of those in San Salvador or to the west on our archeology tour).

The murals were also beautiful – I wish we’d been able to visit Ataco and some of the western cities on the Ruta de Flores, since they were supposed to have even richer images.

One fascinating thing we noticed driving around were frequent depictions of the Star of David (among other traditional symbols of Judaism, as seen below). When we asked our driver about these symbols, he simply mentioned that they signify a church – and, when pressed later (we kept seeing them and even saw one in the sign for a pharmacy), said that he wasn’t aware that they were associated with Judaism since he just knew them as Christian symbols.

As with most towns (another reason we opted to return to San Salvador rather than risk a long trek to see things that might not be open), Suchitoto had limited opening hours for most of the sights, including the beautiful church. However, we were able to see a few of the main sights.

We began with a visit to Lilian’s Bakery, which has been operating since 1979. None of the items were labeled, but we decided to try two versions of what Ever later told us were “quesadillas” (in El Salvador, this refers to pastries with cheese, rather than the delicious Mexican dish). Both were flavorful – the bottom one has a thicker mouthfeel while the top one reminded me of two thin slices of Japanese cheesecake around a creamy custard center.

The town is known for its colonial square and colonial architecture, one of the few remaining examples in the country. After the bakery, we had to make an immediate stop to replace my shirt, as my top button had completely failed and my makeshift bobby-pin / button solution wasn’t quite working. Since indigo production is a central artform in El Salvador, we opted to visit the indigo “workshop” (mostly a store). After trying on about half their inventory (not my intention), we left with a t-shirt and my dignity somewhat restored. The store is in the square (left photo below!).

Of course, we had to stop in the central market, which included vendors selling everything from prepared foods to meat, seafood, vegetables, fruits, and a variety of spices and dry goods.

They also have quite a large area where women were preparing tortillas to sell to accompany lunch later in the day – as we’d learn from Ever when driving back to San Salvador, pupusas are really popular for breakfast and dinner, but lunch is typically a plate with rice and beans, a meat (pork, chicken, beef) and some veggies with tortillas. The colors were stunning (and it was impressive seeing them use their bare hands to turn the hot tortillas on the grill!).

Up next, we ventured to one of the few museums open in Suchitoto, the Centre Arte Para La Paz. It’s set on the outskirts of the tourist area, and on the walk we were amused to hear a man in a pickup truck driving through the streets offering items for sale on a loudspeaker (the call to action was to step outside your home if you needed anything – again, a great example of your shopping coming to you!).

The museum has a pretty limited collection, but is beautifully curated and set within an older church. The main “exhibit” is essentially an illustrated chronology of the area’s history, including a history of the various agricultural and sociocultural items used by locals in their daily life. It wasn’t groundbreaking (I almost got the impression it was intended for children, as it was a great education resource but most items were common sense for adults), but beautifully illustrated.

Some of the interesting items highlighted include:

• Ayote (a type of squash) was the first plant cultivated and domesticated in Mesoamerica
• The indigenous cooking set up typically used three stones, some type of carbon (charcoal) and a comal (basically a stone used as the cooktop – we saw many of these in Oaxaca)
• Unlike indigenous peoples, the Spanish treated the kitchen as a separate room, with an oven for bread, stones for grinding various grains, and of course, a stove with pans for cooking; similarly, they used metal utensils and pans rather than clay pots
• The market was always a place where people would congregate, as well as a ritual space; as you might expect, bartering was common

I also appreciated that the museum didn’t stray away from the history, including that of the war. I found the below map quite interesting. It includes:

• Main areas and historic sites within the Suchitoto municipality (broader than the city itself)
• Key sites within the city of Suchitoto (several of these we didn’t see on maps and I’m not sure how we would have found them, including the ‘ruined theater’ and the technical school)
• Areas that have previously flooded
• “Repopulated” and new communities (I wish there had been more information available about what led to the repopulation / new community growth)
• Massacres during the war from 1979-1983

I also appreciated the handmade, illustrated “quilts” (for lack of a better term) made by local indigenous groups about their relationship with the land, the war, and the future. The portrait on the RHS below also moved me (it’s painted on blue jeans, which was a nice artistic touch).

The former chapel of the church included a variety of sculptures – I loved the cat (the notes say she represents the dream of solidarity and liberty, symbolizing feminine intuition and representing happiness and creativity – that part is for sure!).

Below are a variety of masks made from paper mache to represent a variety of local and indigenous themes – I also loved these. The explanations are also interesting (order is top / bottom of each photo, left to right – apologies for any errors as the translations are mine):

• Represents Chaac, the principal Mayan god of rain, fertility and thunder, who was believed to be fundamental for agriculture and the sustenance of the Mayan civilization. He’s typically presented as having a large nose and curved fangs (as seen in the mask) and his favor was perceived as being essential for a good harvest. He was widely celebrated across the Maya world with ceremonies dedicated to invoking his intervention in agricultural outcomes, typically by performing ‘demonstrations’ associated with the four cardinal directions (I wish I knew more about what this means; I assume this means they would gesticulate in each of the directions, or they would perform some series of rituals facing each direction or from each direction facing the altar)
• A physical reinterpretation of the nickname given to the indigenous group the “chiriguanos” (today called Guaraní) who were called “cold” (I googled this to ensure my translation was correct and it turns out that this group lives all over South America as well and the Incas referred to them as “cold” and also “the people who freeze to death” so take that as you will)
• Represents the devil / a variety of diverse Latin American representations of demonic figures. Typically, these masks have cultural and religious significance and are utilized for rituals, dances, and carnival
• Inspired by the masks and statues that are used by Nahuat Pipil ancestors called “Tepeme Tukat” to represent spirits; the goal of the mask is to represent one of the gods or spirits that the Mayans would offer sacrifices to, in order to get a response to a prayer
• Represents the internal fire that fights to prevent whatever darkness is trying to obscure what ignites your soul. It’s a ferocious guardian that transforms temptation and chaos into strength, rebellion, and livelihood
• Represents connection with ancestors, using red and orange tones to symbolize vital strength. It also evokes spiritual protection and interior vigilance in conjunction with reflection on identity, memory and the internal fire to guide the “carrier” (I assume this means the person wearing the mask)
• Honors the eternal cycle of day and night as it’s colored to match the sky and water. The sun and moon intertwine around an ancestral face to guard the equilibrium of the universe. On one side is a vigilant jaguar with strength and mystery; on the other, a snake guarding divine wisdom. It’s a sacred symbol of the Mayan world in which everything is connected: land, spirit and the cosmos
• Represents the ancestral energy of life and food, uniting a town with the land. The intense colors evoke the strength of the sun to sprout the crops and protect natural [planting?] cycles. Symbolizes abundance, ancient wisdom and the spiritual connection that sustains life
• Used to celebrate the Calaca Festival, celebrating the joy that persists beyond life, so that the dead can also smile and be united with the living in dance. Symbolizes a spirit that can’t be broken, the living memory of those who are still present in every party, laugh, and color
• Represents the Snake Warrior, a special class of infantry soldier in the Aztec (Mexica) army (essentially the Aztec special forces)

I also found the one below especially interesting – it represents the Eagle Warrior, which was an elite Aztec (Mexica) made of distinguished soldiers known for their valor and abilities. If I am translating correctly, this type of headgear would have been worn by the leaders of these troops under Montezuma’s government.

As we made our way back to town for lunch, we again passed the beautiful town square. We also passed the old theater.

The Cathedral is stunning, although we asked several folks who mentioned that it was unfortunately closed for cleaning until about 5pm that evening.

The facade is certainly imposing!

We loved the colored streets as well – Ever mentioned that Suchitoto reminds him quite a bit of Antigua, Guatemala, which has even more streets filled with multicolor homes and businesses.

From there, we visited the only other museum open during our short visit – the Museo de Plata (Museum of Plates). It’s a huge collection of… collectable plates. You’d think we could have guessed, but I suppose we anticipated a little bit more of a sophisticated, impressive collection vs. the entire 1990s series of Disney princess plastic plates, etc. (still cool, but not something I would pay money to see again!). That being said, the collection is comprehensive across continents and pop culture moments (as well as a variety of religions, which was interesting).

Lastly, we decided to grab lunch at one of the top-rated restaurants in town, Casa Flamenco. It was a lovely experience, set in the open-air plaza of one of the hostels (of course).

We had an interesting lunch visitor – I’m not sure what kind of lizard the little guy on the right is, but it seemed just as curious about us as we were about it.

For lunch, we had the local Suprema beer (refreshing!) and both got the parilla plates (in both cases, we had skirt steak, a small piece of chorizo (unlike Mexican chorizo, this is a super fine grind and has a bit more of a smoky than spicy flavor), rice, pico de gallo, avocado, and homemade queso (as well as fried fresh tortillas – probably made by the women in the market!).

As we had lunch, I had to check out the various coins we’d received over the course of our time in El Salvador. The country uses USD as its primary currency (in addition to a short-lived stint from 2021-early 2025 during which Bitcoin was legal tender) and since cost of living is so low, coins are the primary currency. We discovered they use a mix of Sacagawea and George Washington $1 coins, as well as the “state” quarters and some quarters from a recent (TIL) series the US has been minting for the past 4 years highlighting famous nineteenth century women (who knew!).

Overall, highly recommend Suchitoto! We’d love to visit the rest of the villages on the Ruta de Flores next time we visit El Salvador, as I know Suchitoto barely scratched the surface of the Ruta de Flores. It certainly has the most tourist infrastructure (especially if you’re looking to stay overnight and have formal meals), but I suspect we would have enjoyed seeing more of the indigenous history and smaller town vibes from some of the other cities. That being said, it was a perfect introduction and a very manageable drive from San Salvador (if we’d only done Suchitoto, we could have easily accomplished a half-day trip and been back at the hotel by about 2pm).

On the way home, we passed briefly through San Martin, which has an absolutely incredible Cathedral in an otherwise extremely small town. Of course, we had to stop to take a quick picture!

Overall, an incredible stop in an otherwise packed itinerary through El Salvador!