| The smallest and most densely populated country in | | | | upwards. |
| Central America, El Salvador is chiefly remembered | | | | Playa El Sunzal, La Libertad proclaimed as one of the |
| for the vicious civil war of the 1980s, when streams of | | | | best surfing spots worldwide by those who regularly |
| harrowing news stories brought this tiny country to the | | | | ride the waves, El Sunzal is similarly a great beach for |
| attention of the world. For a decade, atrocity followed | | | | snorkelling and diving. |
| atrocity in a seemingly unstoppable sequence | | | | The area where the borders of El Salvador, Honduras |
| The best time to visit El Salvador is during the dry | | | | and Guatemala converge receives 200cm of annual |
| season from November to February. Though | | | | precipitation, experiences 100 percent humidity and |
| temperatures reach a high of around 30 and in the | | | | rises to an elevation of 2400m ideal conditions for a |
| coastal lowlands, it feels much hotter because of the | | | | cloud forest. |
| humidity its easiest to get around at this time and even | | | | In the Montecristo cloud forest, oak and laurel trees |
| the back roads are accessible. | | | | grow to 30m and their leaves form a canopy |
| In January and February 2001, a series of powerful | | | | impenetrable to sunlight. |
| earthquakes, the strongest measuring 7.6 on the | | | | Ferns, orchids, mushrooms and mosses coat the |
| Richter scale ripped through El Salvador, killing over | | | | forest floor, and the local wildlife includes rare and |
| 1000 people and causing widespread destruction. The | | | | protected spider monkeys, two fingered anteaters, |
| earthquakes produced over 600 landslides and | | | | pumas, agoutis, toucans and striped owls. |
| destroyed more 145,000 homes, along with schools | | | | The cloud forest is in the Parque Nacional Montecristo |
| and hospitals across the country. | | | | El Trifinio, northeast of sleepy Metapan and a four hour |
| Sadly, given the beauty of the country and the | | | | bus ride due north of San Salvador. You need |
| character of the people, El Salvador can be a | | | | advance permission from the National Parks and |
| dangerous place to travel in. Since the signing of the | | | | Wildlife Service at the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente in |
| Peace Accords in 1992 street crime and delinquency | | | | San Salvador. |
| have risen, and levels of civil violence continue to spiral | | | | |