lago de coatepeque, sv
As to me El Salvador was one grand surprise, the lake here was no exception. Lago De Coatepeque is a rather small lake tucked up in the volcanic highlands of the country. It's relatively small. Not more than a few kilometers across. The shores of the lake are filled with little restaurants, lodging options and tiny town. Think Lake Atitlan, but on such a tinier scale. It's also located adjacent to the Santa Ana Volcano. So when I went up the volcano I elected to stay at the lake. It was easy for me, because I had a vehicle of my own. As you pull into the lake there will be tons of restaurants that are located up in the hillsides of the lake where you can stop for some coffee, a drink, or some food, and enjoy some stunning views of the typically very blue lake. There is a natural phenomenon that has been occurring at this lake for the last 25 years of so. Since 1998, the lake has undergone a remarkable change in water color, and the people who know about this stuff are still debating the cause of it. But every year it turns this fascinating shade of turquoise blue. It's not like that all year round, and it doesn't happen every year, but if you are lucky enough to be there when it does, it's one of the most interesting things you'll see in the country. Apparently, the alteration is attributed to the presence of substances that restrict sunlight penetration with consistent intensity, that give it its turquoise hue. Some photos below, of what this looks like. The lake was one of the more relaxing places that I went to in El Salvador. It's beautiful, there's hardly any distractions, and it's a perfect place in my opinion to just go and do nothing, sit by the water wherever you choose to stay, and just relax. It was great for me, and I went back a few times for that reason. Calm, relaxing, tranquil place. Yes I am aware those are all similes, but I just wanted to get my point across, okay? In addition, there's a great hostel here. So you will have a place to come, stay cheaply, and even be able to interact with other travelers. So there's somewhat of a backpacking culture as well. It's also a pretty popular spot to visit for local El Salvadorians, so there's plenty of stuff to do on the lake like wakeboard or jet ski if you want. In other words. Go here. Who knew El Salvador had awesome lakes?? I didn't.
Lago de Coatepeque is located in the northern part of the country. About 40 km's or so inland from the coast, and at an elevation of nearly 2,500 feet or 700 or so meters above sea level. The crater lake is tucked inside of wooded hillsides so you are surrounded by higher elevation on every side. My favorite kind of lake. the nearest large city is going to be Santa Ana. — A popular stop along the backpacking trail, especially if you are in the country and not there specifically for surfing. It's also pretty much right next to the Santa Ana Volcano, and if you plan to go hike that (which you should), the lake is a good place to stay. Getting here isn't all that hard, but it's not the easiest thing in the world either. If you have a car, it's simple — just drive in, but the other forms of transit might require a little more savvy.
GETTING HERE:
1. BY BUS - I would recommend getting yourself to Santa Ana first if you plan to take a bus here to the lake. Once you find yourself in Santa Ana, from there get on either bus #201 or #220. There's a number of bus stops, but here is one. The ride will take about an hour and you can have the bus driver drop you off really anywhere along the lake access route that circumvents the lake. Make sure the driver knows you are going to the lake, and is ready to stop for you when you tell him that you want to get off. This may require some walking, but don't worry, the lake area is very safe. If you are coming from San Salvador, take bus number 201, inform the driver that you're headed to Lago Coatepeque, and you can request to be dropped off at any desired location along the lake's row of hotels and restaurants. The journey from Santa Ana lasts just under 1 hour, while it takes approximately 1 1/2 hours from San Salvador.
2. BY SHUTTLE - A far easier method of getting here, but much more expensive. I stayed at Captain Morgan's Hostel once when I was here. They have a link where you can book transportation through them there from really anywhere. This option will probably cost you at least $50. There is a link to start a chat with them on WhatsApp, here.
3. BY CAR - Simple enough to get here with your own vehicle. There is an access road that pretty much circumvents the entirety of the lake. There is a town called El Congo, which is the gateway town to the lake. You'll need to come through here first, and it's conveniently located along the 1. Once you get to El Congo you will take the road into the lake. It's only about a 30-minute drive from Santa Ana. 1 hour and 15 minutes from San Salvador and about 2 hours up from El Tunco. The road down into the lake is pretty steep, and the access road isn't of the best quality. But if you have gotten this far you are no stranger to this.
HOSTELS, CAMPING, AND HOTELS (IF ANY)
There's accommodation all over the place here at the Lake. It's practically all accommodation as you go around the lake. Accommodation and restaurants. So depending on what you want, it's pretty easy to find. In faith to the idea behind this guide, I will only recommend the cheaper options. I came here a few different times, electing to camp once, and the other times I stayed in a hostel.
So below are only one rec for a hostel, and one campsite. But there are hotels and Airbnbs, and everything that you could want all up and down the price and quality spectrum.
A really great place to stay here on the lake. It's right on the water, built with a dock and hang out area that you can jump off of into the water. It's a perfect little lake hostel. It's a few different stories and has a bar, decent accommodation, and a common area. It's not the nicest place in the world, but for me it checks every single box that you need to check when it comes to a hostel. Hang-out area, food (just ok), dock, hammocks, bar, decent and cheap accommodation etc. If you are in the market for a hostel, I wouldn't look any further than this place. There's also this cool little floating dock bar thing that they send out into the lake around sunset.
This is probably the best place to camp on the lake. It's not much more than a parking lot right on the water, but they have facilities, a dock, and a great view. I think it's around $5 per night to pull up and camp here. — Great spot if you are set up with a rig.
EATS
The lake is a small place, but it is entirely surrounded by restaurants and places to eat. Many of them I drove by and didn't go into. As you descend into the lake you're going to pass tons of spots with amazing views, so if you stop at any of them they will certainly be worth it. I only went to a few restaurants here, but those recommendations are below. Good and local food as well.
Restaurants
This place is literally just called 'Great Pupusas' on Google. I feel like someone just made them a business account. It's one of my favorite little spots I had pupusas in the whole country. It's tucked in on the side of the lake access road just a handful of meters away from Captain Morgan's hostel. Little family-run shack on the side of the road with delicious and cheap pupusas.
One of the many hillside restaurants here in Coatepeque. It's along the road that descends into town, and we stopped in for breakfast. A tipico and a view. It was a great place to stop, take in the views.
Popular lakeside restaurant that's also got kind of like a beach club vibe. It's a place where lots of people go, and it's right on the water, so the vibes are nice. — Won't be super cheap though.
NIGHTLIFE
Not much of a nightlife scene here. Not that I found at least. I am sure there are places that people go and drink at, especially the local El Salvadorians who are on vacation, but I didn't do any of that here. The bar inside Captain Morgan's hostel is the only thing that I did any "partying" at. But it was really just having some beers on the lake. It's a cool little bar though. So if you are looking for somewhere to get some drinks and hang out, it's probably going to be at the hostel that you are already staying at.
You come here, for the most part, to relax.
SIGHTS
The lake boasts a lot of things to do. A lot of them are pretty expensive like jet-skiing, or renting a boat to go wakeboarding or something, but there's a lot of stuff to do here and around. It's a lake, so activities abound. Other best things to do here include visiting the nearby volcano.
One of the best things to do around the lake, — hell... one of the best things to do in the entire country, is to summit the Santa Ana volcano. It's something that can be done within the span of a single day. A few hours up, and a few hours down. The volcano itself is about a 40-minute drive from the gateway lake town of El Congo. To get there you will need to make your way here, to the base of the volcano. There are some fees that you have to pay to start the hike. From there you just make your way up the trail to the beautiful summit of the volcano. The inside of the active volcano contains a turquoise blue lake. Stunning views up there as well. It was one of my favorite volcano hikes in Central America. Alltrails link here. Probably the best way, if you don't have a car, is to book a tour to do this.
JET SKI
Everyone loves to jet ski, and that's a fun activity to do here at the lake. It was out of my price range, but if you have it in your budget it would certainly be fun.
WAKE BOARDING
You can book a boat to take you wakeboarding here as well.
There's a cool little fresh-water island in the middle of the lake here called Teopan. You have to take a ferry over here, but once you are there, there is a road that circumvents the island, places to eat etc. It's a cool thing to do for an afternoon.
NOTHING
Just a friendly reminder that one of the best things to do here is take a nap in a hammock and do nothing.
There's loads of really cool restaurants up on the hillsides of the lake here. I would highly recommend spending an afternoon grabbing lunch at one of them, and enjoying the view. One I liked, 'Tekunal', is linked.
SURFING
Nothing here. You are at a lake.