Lake Coatepeque

About this place

Lake Coatepeque is a large crater lake filling the eastern part of a caldera in western El Salvador. It covers 26 square km inside high green walls and is known for changing colour from blue to turquoise, one of the finest sights in the country, especially from the high roads around it. Its name means at the snake hill in Nawat. The caldera formed in a series of violent eruptions about 72,000 to 57,000 years ago, and lava domes followed, the youngest being Cerro Pacho after 8000 BC. Hot springs lie near its edges. The environment ministry says the colour change is a cyclical event, seen in years including 1998, 2006, 2012 and 2019. From the road on the rim the wide water appears as a blue circle, with the wooded island of Teopan before it, once a Maya site of some importance. Below are houses, restaurants and wooden jetties reaching into the water, with small boats. In some years the water turns a bright turquoise that looks almost painted, but this does not happen every year. The lake is 14.8 km in a straight line south of Santa Ana city, an easy trip to pair with the volcano. Access to the water is usually through restaurants and hotels on the shore. Agree boat prices first and wear a life jacket. Ask about swimming and water conditions when the colour changes, keep valuables out of sight, and ask what food contains.