At the Santa Ana volcano summit, Indranil and I could barely hear each other due to the gusty wind. Yet, I wanted to express so much.
It was not just the sight of the stunning emerald crater lake that filled me with joy. The sweeping views from up there, of the surrounding mountains, the valley, the Coatepeque lake, and the Izalco volcano also amplified the appeal of the place.
It may not be an overstatement if I say that the Santa Ana volcano summit is one of the most beautiful places in El Salvador.
To reach this exact spot, all you need to do is hike up the Ilamatepec volcano, an active volcano with an altitude of 2,381 meters (7,812 feet). Ilamatepec volcano is also known as Santa Ana volcano and the hike is popularly referred to as the Santa Ana volcano hike.
In this article, we will share everything you need to know to go for this beautiful hike in El Salvador and what to expect from it.
This post was last updated in March 2024.
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Why Do the Santa Ana Volcano Hike?
If you enjoy sights and sounds of nature, combined with some physical activity, you may find the Santa Ana volcano hike one of the best things to do in El Salvador. Here are some highlights of the hike:
- Hiking up to the top of a volcano that last erupted less than 2 decades ago
- Breathtaking views of other volcanoes, lakes, ocean and valley along the way
- Gorgeous emerald colored crater lake at the volcano summit
Sounds fascinating? Then, let’s get to the details of everything you may need to do for doing your own Santa Ana volcano hike in El Salvador.
Quick resources for planning a hassle free hike of Santa Ana Volcano:
- Highly rated tour: Santa Ana Volcano Hike with Coatepeque Lake
- Car rental: Discover Cars for best deals across car rental companies
Want to grab a coffee and watch our Santa Ana volcano hike on screen? Check out this YouTube video.
How to Reach Santa Ana Volcano Hike Trailhead
We traveled from Santa Ana town to the Santa Ana volcano hike trailhead by using the public bus network of El Salvador. In this section, you will find not only the details of which bus to take and at what time, but also information on other alternative ways to reach the trailhead.
Using Public Transport
Take the public bus #248 from Santa Ana to the Santa Ana volcano hike trailhead. The stop you need to get off is called El Tibet. The journey takes about 2 hours each way and costs 0.70 USD per person. To be able to reach the national park on time for the hike, you need to take the 7:30 am bus from Santa Ana.
After the hike, for returning to Santa Ana, you need to take the same bus #248. However, there are only two time slots for this return journey, 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm. The 1:00 pm bus will cost the same, 0.70 USD for getting back to Santa Ana, but the 4:00 pm ride will cost you more (explained in the next paragraph).
However, unless, you are starting the hike in the first group or you are hiking very fast, it is not feasible to catch the 1:00 pm bus. So, it is more likely that you will take the 4:00 pm bus for going back to Santa Ana. But, note that, this one does NOT go all the way to Santa Ana. This 4:00 pm #248 bus will drop you at Puente El Congo, just next to a bus terminal. From this bus terminal at Puente El Congo, you will need to board bus #59 to reach Santa Ana, the cost of which is 0.30 USD. So, in total, you will spend 1 USD (70 cents for bus #248 and 30 cents for bus #59) for going back from Santa Ana volcano trailhead to Santa Ana town.
Book a Tour
If you wish to skip the public bus rides and prefer to have everything organized, you can book a tour that will also include transportation.
Check these Santa Ana Volcano Hike tour options:
- Santa Ana Volcano Hike in a small group tour, with pickup from hotel in Santa Ana. Click here to book with the option to reserve now and pay later. The price includes the services of a local guide as well as an audio guide.
- This small group tour of Santa Ana Volcano Hike + Coatepeque Lake offers pickup from San Salvador and the beach cities of El Tunco and El Zonte. On this tour, after the hike, you get to stop for lunch at a Coatepeque Lake view restaurant. Lunch price not included. Click here to book the tour with the option of free cancellation up to 24 hours prior to the tour.
By Rental Car
You can also travel across El Salvador by renting a car. Check Discover Cars to compare prices, deals, and availability across different car rental companies in El Salvador.
Take an Uber
You can try to take an Uber from Santa Ana town to the Ilamatepec volcano trailhead. This will cost you around 15 USD one way. With this option, compared to public buses, you may spend more money, but less time on commute and waiting times for transport.
However, for the return trip by Uber, your ride options may be limited as the starting point is somewhat remote. If you reach the trailhead by Uber, for getting back to Santa Ana, you will probably have to rely on your hitchhiking skills and luck.
So, we recommend the previous three options – using public transport or rental car, or booking a tour, for the Santa Ana volcano hike.
Do You Need a Guide for Santa Ana Volcano Hike?
Yes, according to the national park guidelines, it is mandatory to do the Santa Ana Volcano hike with a guide.
Once you arrive at the Santa Ana Volcano hike trailhead, you will need to find a guide. It is easy to spot them as they are in uniforms. Just gather around one of them, and you become part of his/her group.
Usually, depending on the number of people doing the hike on the day, there will be one to multiple small-mid sized group(s), each led by one guide. Also, as per the national park policy, there will be police escorts ahead of the first hike group and at the end of the last hike group. So, if your group is in the middle, you may not notice the police escorts as part of your group, but be assured that they are there.
We did the hike in the last week of December, the peak season for domestic tourism in El Salvador. So, on the day of our hike, there were hundreds of people on the Santa Ana volcano trail. Yes, you read that right! Hundreds of people! We did not see any police escort as part of our group, but when we were reaching towards the summit, we spotted some armed and uniformed officers, who asked our guide, people of which nationalities she was bringing.
Total Cost for Santa Ana Volcano Hike
There are 2 parts of the the Santa Ana Volcano hike cost, one for the services of the guide and the other for entering the Los Volcanes Complex of the Cerro Verde National Park.
- Guide Charges: 3 USD per person
- Park Entrance Fees: 6 USD per person for foreigners, 3 USD per person for nationals/residents.
So, the total cost for doing the Santa Ana volcano hike in 2023 is 9 USD per person (for foreigners) and 6 USD per person (for nationals/residents), plus the transportation cost.
Timings and Duration for Santa Ana Volcano Hike
Los Volcanes National Park complex is open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. But the Santa Ana volcano hike is best done in the morning, as the afternoon brings in higher chances of clouds and rain.
The guided group hikes from Santa Ana volcano trailhead starts around 10:00 in the morning. So, if availing public transport, you do need to catch the 7:30 am bus from Santa Ana to make it on time before the hike starts.
The hike up to the summit takes about 2 hours. You are allowed to stay at the summit for about 30 minutes. Then the hike back can take another 1.5-2 hours.
Best Time to Do Santa Ana Volcano Hike
Similar to Costa Rica’s climate pattern, El Salvador has 2 main seasons. Rainy season lasts from May to November, while dry season months are from December to April.
The prime attraction of the Santa Ana volcano is its emerald colored crater like. However, if the weather is not clear, even after the 2 hour uphill hike, you may miss out on the spectacular sight of the crater lake and the stunning panoramic views from the sight. Clouds often engulf the entire summit area. Such occurrences can happen anytime, but are more common during the rainy season.
Although you cannot predict nature, you can definitely play with the odds. So, it is best to go for Santa Ana volcano hike during the dry season, between the months of December and April.
We did the Santa Ana volcano hike in end of December and got clear weather and good visibility. When we reached the summit, the crater was hiding under a layer of clouds. But within a few minutes, the emerald crater later started to reveal itself as the blanket of cloud passed.
Is Santa Ana Volcano Hike Difficult?
You will be hiking to the top of a volcano. Definitely, it is no walk in the park! But, it is also not as strenuous as the Acatenango volcano hike in Guatemala.
Santa Ana volcano hike is of moderate difficulty level. Neither of us struggled on this hike, apart from me (Pubali) fighting my fear of heights at some places (yeah, I know!). In fact, we enjoyed the hike with the continuous views of the beautiful vistas.
On the day of our hike, we noticed some small kids, as well as some elderly people on the trail. With the right preparation and the right pace, anyone (without any obstructing medical conditions) should be able to do the Santa Ana volcano hike. Of course, as with any hike, higher the general fitness level, more enjoyable the hike!
More than half of the Santa Ana volcano hike trail does not have steep inclines or drops. There are also shades of trees along the first half of the route. The most challenging part of the hike is the last bit, where it’s a constant uphill walk (and downhill for descent), on big rocky paths and directly under the sun.
For a detailed breakdown of the Santa Ana volcano hike trail, in terms of what to expect, please refer to the next section.
If you enjoy the sights of volcanoes, check out these places in Costa Rica:
- Arenal Volcano National Park
- Irazu Volcano National Park
- Cerro Tortuguero – An Inactive Volcano
- Secondary Volcanic Activities of Tenorio Volcano National Park
- Secondary Volcanic Activities of Rincon de la Vieja National Park
Santa Ana Volcano Hike: Step-by-step Breakdown
We will share our experience of hiking Santa Ana volcano in El Salvador. Let us break it down into different sections so that you can prepare accordingly for each phase of the hike.
Part 1: Start of the Hike
Right after debarking from the bus, we headed to the vehicle parking area where a lot of other visitors and groups of guides had assembled. The first step was to reach the ticket office of the national park.
A guide was assigned to each group of visitors. Our guide briefed us about the costs and the route. Apart from this, his key message was to take it easy, not rush and never to leave the group. Please note, this brief by the guide is entirely in Spanish. So, if you do not follow the language, do not hesitate to ask someone in your group for the translated version.
We had to pay the guide’s fee 3 USD directly to the guide and needed to purchase the national park entrance ticket for 6 USD from the ticket office. You can also buy a stick (broken branch of a tree) for 50 cents as your hiking gear.
Part 2: Entrance to Ticket Office
The route from the parking area to the ticket office was continuous uphill, but through the forest and hence under the shades of trees.
For some reason, a different guide was assigned to our group once we arrived at the ticket counter. After she welcomed us, we got into the queue to purchase our tickets. This took a while because, as stated earlier, there were hundreds of other people on the day of our hike.
In this area, right opposite the ticket counter, there are bathrooms for use. With no flowing tap water or flush, it is a pretty basic bathroom where you need to use buckets of water before and after using the toilet. But this is the only option you have got for the entire hike route, so use it!
Here, there are couple of corner shops too. So, if you need to stock up on drinking water or snacks, this is your last chance.
Part 3: Ticket Office to Watchtower
After purchasing the tickets, we continued our hike. We were still walking through forest on dirt trails, but did not have much of an elevation gain in this section. The shades of trees and a soft breeze continued to provide a cooling comfort.
After a while, we reached an area with a watchtower. Our guide stopped here with the group for all of us to catch our breaths and drink some water. She explained that from here on, we would be heading uphill, towards the crater. You will also notice a signboard here stating that for walking on this crater trail, you should preserve your energy, carry sufficient water and wear shoes fit for difficult terrains.
As for the watchtower, you can climb to the top to get views of the surrounding area. But we reserved it for later, for our way back from the summit to the trailhead.
Part 4: Watchtower to Mirador
After the watchtower, we walked through forests for a bit more. Then the vegetation started thinning. As we gained more altitude, the air also became less dense. The trail gradually turned from dirt paths to rockier routes.
Soon, we were walking on one side of the volcano with an open view to our left. This revealed stunning scenery. As we hiked the Ilametepec volcano, another one, the Izalco volcano started peeping.
As we ascended higher and got closer to the volcano crater, we occasionally could smell sulfur in the air.
In this part of the hike, Indranil and I slowed down. A lot! So much that we fell behind to the end of our group! We slowed down, not because of hiking difficulty or challenges, but because breathtaking sights held us back. We kept stopping to take in splendid views, and then proceeded only to find even better views, and stopped again!
Part 5: Mirador to Summit
After a while, we reached a mirador, a viewpoint. This area had a wooden deck built where you can go stand for photo ops, with the Izalco volcano in the backdrop. This was another pitstop for our group. But Indranil and I did not get to spend much time here because we were late catching up with our group, after all the stops we had already made along the way.
If anyone says the Santa Ana volcano hike is a very easy one, I beg to differ. It is because of this stretch from the mirador to the summit. From the mirador, it is a steep uphill hike, with twists and turns, on rocks and boulders. We navigated this route, while often balancing ourselves on edges with sharp drops on the side.
Also, you do need proper hiking shoes for this hike. You may try to wing it with sandals, but not if you are kind to your feet and knees, when walking on rocks and uneven surfaces.
Part 6: At the Santa Ana Volcano Summit
As soon as we reached the Santa Ana volcano summit, strong winds seemed to sweep us away. The air temperature also was way lower than it was for the preceding part of the hike. We wore dry-fit t-shirts for the hike, but had to put on our jackets immediately after reaching the summit.
The major attraction at the Santa Ana volcano summit is the emerald crater lake. No, you cannot swim in there! It is an acidic lake filled with sulfur and other chemicals. So, do not even dare stand on the edge of the rim and risk a fall!
Soon after we reached near the crater, the layers of clouds cleared, revealing clear views of the crater lake. It was magnificent! But not just the crater lake, every direction we looked from the top of the Santa Ana volcano, we saw beautiful landscapes. The Izalco volcano and the Coatepeque lake also formed part of the 360 degree views of the spectacular scenery.
You are allowed to stay at the summit for not more than half an hour. So, we walked a bit at the summit, absorbing the sights and sounds of the surrounding vistas during those 30 minutes. Then we started the descent towards the trailhead.
Note: The crater lake of Santa Ana volcano in El Salvador has similarites with the crater lake of Poas volcano in Costa Rica. Apart from the surrounding scenery, the main difference between the two is that Santa Ana volcano requires a full-fledged volcano hike, whereas for Poas volcano, it is a few minutes walk from the car parking lot to the crater. Watch this YouTube video for glimpses of Poas Volcano in Costa Rica.
Part 7: Return from Volcano Summit to Trailhead
For the hike back, from the summit to the mirador (the reverse of the Part 5 explained before), we needed to be cautious of the slopes and rocks and edges. Post that, it was a fairly comfortable walk. On the way, we also stopped to get to the top of the watchtower and enjoyed the views from up there.
To return from the volcano summit to the trailhead, we retraced the same path as of the onward hike, but until the ticket office. From the ticket office, we noticed that some people where heading right, and we followed them. In this area, instead of walking down forested dirt paths through the jungle (the reverse of the Part 2 explained before), we walked on tar roads. We figured, probably private tours take this route to reach the ticket office.
With open fields next to us and the Santa Ana volcano gradually retreating away from our sight, we reached El Tibet and concluded our Santa Ana volcano hike.
What to Pack for Santa Ana Volcano Hike?
During the Santa Ana volcano hike, as you ascend to the top, you will notice the differences in temperatures. It is usually cold and very windy at the summit. So, pack accordingly.
- Wear comfortable clothes that make movement easier.
- Put on shoes that have strong soles with good friction. You will be walking on rocks. Definitely no flip-flops! We wore our hiking boots and were fine.
- Carry a jacket for the summit.
- Bring at least 1.5 liters of water, and in case you feel starved, some snacks.
- Apply sunscreen. For the better part of the hike, you will be directly under the sun.
- The hike involves walking through forest areas. So, apply insect repellent on exposed skin. We forgot ours (so us!), but thankfully no insect bothered us.
- Smartphone or cameras, bring the photography device of your choice. You would want to capture the memories of this beautiful day.
Side Note: Indranil carried the drone on our Santa Ana volcano hike, but it was too windy at the summit for flying it. But he risked it when visiting the Conchagua Volcano, and here is what happened!
Where to stay in Santa Ana?
Santa Ana is the closest prominent town to the Santa Ana volcano. You can choose from the various stay options in the town and take a day trip to the volcano. Here are some of our hotel or hostel recommendations in Santa Ana.
- Casa Blanca Tu Casa: A guesthouse run by two sisters with all the basic amenities, high-speed internet, and shared kitchen. Click here to check prices and availability.
- Hostal Las Puertas: A highly-rated hostel near the town center that offers private rooms with AC and basic amenities along with a shared kitchen and lounge. Click here to check prices and availability.
- Hostal Casa Verde: Anothe hostel option with private and shared rooms along with a swimming pool and bicycle rentals. Click here to check prices and availability.
- Casa Vieja Guesthouse: A guesthouse that offers private rooms with private bathrooms. Click here to check prices and availability.
Wish to know what photography equipment we use? Check out this page.
Going for overnight volcano hikes in Central America? Get ideas about what to pack from our Acatenango Hike Packing Guide.
What Next after Santa Ana Volcano Hike?
From left to right: (1) Our post-hike treat: cups of cappuccino and hot chocolate, and a dessert. (2) Us, at the observation deck of the Crater Coffee Shop and Bistro.
Option 1
We spent a week in Santa Ana town from where we went for the Santa Ana volcano hike. After the hike, before heading back to Santa Ana, we went for a post-hike treat of coffee and cake at the Crater Coffee Shop and Bistro that has beautiful views of the Coatepeque Lake.
If you want to do something similar, you need to take into account the bus timings. How did we manage to do it? We hitchhiked to the cafe! This way, we managed to wrap up our little coffee date by the lake just in time to catch the 4:00 pm bus #248 back to Santa Ana. The bus passes by the cafe around 4:15/4:20 pm.
Option 2
The other option is, you can take it more relaxed and spend a night or two by the lake Coatepeque. Captain Morgan Hostel is a popular place with fun vibes. After Coatepeque, you can travel on to Juayua, and spend a few nights to explore the Ruta de las Flores.
Other Hikes in El Salvador
Have a great rest of your El Salvador trip! Here are some other hikes that you may enjoy:
- Seven Waterfalls Hike
- Tamanique Waterfalls Hike
- San Salvador Volcano Hike
- Conchagua Volcano Hike
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Traveling to El Salvador for the first time? Check out this video of our first impressions of El Salvador.
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Travel Planning Logistics
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Very informative. Thanks. I did have a question on the times the guides depart. I’m currently planning a trip there and would like to know when the guides depart for the hikes and what time is the last guided hike to the volcano?
Hi Stephanie. Thank you. For independent visits, all groups with their guides from the national park start leaving around the same time, 10:00 am in the morning. The departure time of the last group + guide would depend on the length of the queue at the ticket office. However, if you would like to be more flexible with the choices of hike start time, you can choose to go with a private tour company.