El Boquerón National Park, El Salvador
At a glance
| El Boquerón | |
|---|---|
| Departments | La Libertad and San Salvador |
| Crater | About 1.5 km wide and 500 m deep, formed about 800 years ago |
| Hours | Every day, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
| Fees | $1 Salvadorans, $2 foreigners; free under 6 and over 60 |
| Getting there | Turn-off at about km 20 from Santa Tecla, then about 3.5 km; bus route 103 |
Source: Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program: San Salvador; El Salvador Travel (Ministry of Tourism): San Salvador volcano, El Boquerón National Park; El Salvador.com: El Boquerón reopens on 16 July 20261,2,3
Map
- 1 El Boquerón National Park The crater of the San Salvador volcano
- 2 Santa Ana volcano 2,381 m; last eruption 2005
- 3 Izalco volcano 1,950 m; last eruption 1966
- 4 San Vicente volcano 2,149 m; two summit peaks
- 5 Lake Coatepeque Caldera lake, 25.3 km²
- 6 Lake Ilopango Caldera lake, 72 km²
- 7 Lake Suchitlán Reservoir of the Cerrón Grande dam
- 8 Los Volcanes National Park (Cerro Verde) Cerro Verde, Santa Ana and Izalco
The volcano
- The crater: the steep-walled Boquerón crater formed in a major eruption about 800 years ago, inside an older caldera about 6 km wide whose rim survives at the El Picacho and El Jabalí peaks.
- The 1917 eruption: on 6 June 1917 fissures opened on the upper north flank and a lava flow cut the railway between Quezaltepeque and Sitio del Niño. The crater lake began to boil by 10 June and was gone by 28 June; El Boqueroncito then formed on the crater floor.
Source: Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program: San Salvador1
Visiting
- Trails and lookouts: marked trails lead in 20 to 25 minutes to three lookouts over the crater and El Boqueroncito.
- Closures: the park closed from 15 June to 15 July 2026 for maintenance and reopened on 16 July.
Source: El Salvador Travel (Ministry of Tourism): San Salvador volcano, El Boquerón National Park; El Salvador.com: El Boquerón reopens on 16 July 20262,3
Hours, fees and access rules change, and areas can close for maintenance, weather or volcanic activity. Check with the park or the Ministry before you travel.
For investors
Volcanoes bring geothermal power, fertile coffee land and visitors, and they also bring risk. For a hotel, a farm or a home near a volcano, ask your engineer and insurer about volcanic, landslide and seismic hazards before you buy.
Sources
- Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program: San Salvador
- El Salvador Travel (Ministry of Tourism): San Salvador volcano, El Boquerón National Park
- El Salvador.com: El Boquerón reopens on 16 July 2026 (in Spanish)
Figures checked 9 November 2026. Prepared by InvestSalvador.com for general information. Figures come from the sources listed.