Santa Ana in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec Corridor, Two Hours Up, Two Down

Santa Ana sits inside the biological corridor called Apaneca-Ilamatepec, which is part of why the forest on the way up deserves as much attention as the crater at the top. The numbers are simple. Roughly two hours to climb, roughly two hours to come back down, longer if the group is finding it hard. At the summit you can walk around the rim of a crater with an emerald green lagoon at the bottom of it, which is where most of the day's photographs get taken. Groups are capped at twenty people. Afterwards the drive goes to Lake Coatepeque, a crater lake whose name is Nahuat for Cerro de Culebras, with time for lunch at one of the restaurants around the shore. Lunch is not included in the price, which is worth knowing before you leave your wallet in the van. Departures are early: 5:00 to 5:30 from El Tunco and El Zonte, 6:00 to 6:30 from San Salvador. If you are staying in an Airbnb, the meeting point is the Hilton San Salvador at 6:00. The exact pick-up time depends on where you are.