page_title: Tourism in El Salvador
section_title: Archaeological sites
hierarchical_section_title: Tourism in El Salvador / Archaeological sites
caption_attribution_description: English: Remains of maya village of Joya de Cerén buried by volcano eruption around A.D. 600. Tamazcal (Structure 9) excavated at Area 2. Located in San Andres, Departament of Santa Ana, El Salvador
context_page_description: Tourism accounts for a large part of El Salvador's economy. It offers many natural attractions including, beaches, a mild tropical climate and lush landscapes. It also offers an important archaeological and ecological heritage, with colonial and pre-Columbian vestiges, and national reserves.
  El Salvador also has an exceptional potential in the field of cultural tourism, with over 2,000 known archaeological sites, samples of Maya and Olmec cultures, mainly. They stand out for their importance the archaeological remains of the Pyramids of San Andrés, Joya de Cerén, Cihuatán, Quelepa, Tazumal and Tehuacán.
  While tourism is an activity that exploded few over the past two decades due to political instability in times of civil war, after the Peace Accords, signed in 1992, there were new expectations, although its development went slowly due to lack of infrastructure in rural areas of the country because the government of the day established other priorities in economic policy, as the maquila.
  A feature of the territory is that the extension is small.
context_section_description: El Salvador also has an exceptional potential in the field of cultural tourism, with over 2,000 known archaeological sites, samples of Maya and Olmec  cultures, mainly. They stand out for their importance the archaeological remains of the Pyramids of San Andrés, Joya de Cerén, Cihuatán, Quelepa, Tazumal and Tehuacán.
  The Tazumal is located in Chalchuapa, Santa Ana Department where it was built by a culture still not defined as shares Mayoid elements of the Guatemalan highlands and the valley of Copán in the early Classic period (around 260). It made many changes over the centuries in the end it became a splendid place showing the great culture of El Salvador. The tazumal remained independent after the fall of Copán and the arrival of the Pipiles.
caption: Joya de Cerén ancient Mayan settlement.
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