The Mayan Route consists of the circuit of archaeological sites of this ancient Central American civilization. In El Salvador there are still eight cities that today demonstrate the power of the disappeared culture by managing to cross the centuries to modernity.
The first stop on the Ruta Maya in El Salvador is Quelepa. The Mayan ruins are surrounded by a majestic river called San Esteban. In its time, Quelepa was inhabited by the Lenca people, who built 40 structures. During the conquest, the jungle protected him from the expeditionaries. The Jaguar Altar it is a monumental jewel made of stone that on its four sides you can see different heads of felines carved in bas-relief.
Cihuatán is the second Mayan city found in El Salvador. Located 36 kilometers from San Salvador, and 4 kilometers from Aguilares. Cihuatán means The Place of Women. Despite the arduous exploratory work, Cihuatán has not yet been fully discovered, as remains of ceramics found indicate two ceremonial centers still remain under the shelter of the Salvadoran jungle.
In third place is the Joya de Cerén, which was accidentally discovered in 1976. Of all Mesoamerica it is an archaeological jewel, being designated a World Heritage Site since 1993. Despite the fact that a volcano devastated the city in 600 AD, it still shows the way in which the Mayans acted in their day a day.
Known by the Mayans as ‘The place where souls are consumed’, Tazumal is an archaeological zone of 10 square kilometers. Tazumal summarizes a compendium of sophisticated structures made of stone and mud that were the center of the Mayan culture until the year 1200 BC. In fact, Tazumal itself constitutes another system of archaeological buildings next to Laguna Cuzcachapa, and Victoria.
Political-ceremonial-commercial center, San Andrés is a Mayan city in which strong contacts with the Copán and Guatemalan Peten civilizations have been found. Also, In San Andrés, samples from three permanent exhibition halls were found, that is, a Mayan museum. In it, sculptures that demonstrate the pre- and post-colonial geographic context are observed.
Santa Leticia is located more than 1400 meters above sea level. In it, the monuments called ‘gorditos’ were found, which are sculptures carved in rock of great volume, weighing between 7,000 and 16,000 kilos. Located within Tazumal, Casa Blanca was found under four meters of volcanic ashand religious centers dating back to 1500 BC were built in it, in addition to the important handicrafts made with stone and obsidian.
The eighth Mayan seat is Dirty Face. Located to the southwest and close to the border with Guatemala, an acropolis was discovered as the base for other buildings, and for small squares, covered in stone. Its name is due to the adjacent river, and it is estimated that it was paid 1100 years ago.