The dark cone
A surface without plants.
JMRAFFi — CC BY 4.0 · Rômulo Gama Ferreira from Vitória-ES — CC BY 2.0 · Raúl Arias — CC BY 2.0 · Angela Rucker, USAID — Public domain · JMRAFFi — CC BY 4.0 · Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD — CC BY-SA 3.0
Izalco is a dark cone on the southern flank of Santa Ana Volcano in western El Salvador. It formed in 1770 and erupted almost continuously until 1958, earning the nickname Lighthouse of the Pacific. Its black symmetrical shape among the green made it a national icon, once shown on the 10 colón note. Steam activity appeared in 1658, before it was born. An eruption in 1926 buried the village of Matazano, killing 56 people, and its last flank eruption came in 1966. A hotel was built on nearby Cerro Verde to give a view of the erupting volcano, but it stopped shortly before the hotel opened, as the story goes. Rare minerals were first named from its deposits. From Cerro Verde you see the whole cone before you, a dark grey surface without plants, with farmland stretching toward the ocean. Visitors usually climb from Cerro Verde National Park, on dark gravel up to the crater, where rainwater meeting hot rock can raise vapour. The crater is 21.6 km in a straight line south of Santa Ana city, reached through Los Volcanes National Park. The climb is hard, so take a guide, water and sturdy shoes. The volcano is quiet now but may erupt again, so follow local guidance. Mountain weather changes, so bring a layer, and do not climb in thick mist.
A surface without plants.
The whole volcano before you.
A dark climb to the crater.
Los Volcanes National Park, western El Salvador
It is quiet now with only vapour, but it may erupt again.
Yes, Cerro Verde gives a full view without a climb.