Bahia de Jiquilisco

The Bahia de Jiquilisco is the largest estuary system in the country, a bay and reserve of several hundred square kilometres behind a chain of sand bars and islands, holding the biggest remaining mangrove forest in El Salvador, designated a Ramsar wetland and a UNESCO biosphere reserve. Boats work the channels from Puerto El Triunfo and other landings, past red and white mangrove, mudflats and fishing settlements, with herons, ibis, spoonbills, ospreys and large numbers of migrating shorebirds. The ocean beaches on the outer bars are important nesting grounds for hawksbill turtles, one of the significant sites for the species in the eastern Pacific, with community hatcheries at several points.

The landscape

• Mangrove channels - the boat routes through the estuary forest.
• Shorebirds - the migrating and resident waders on the mudflats.
• Hawksbill nesting - the turtle beaches and community hatcheries.
• Barrier islands - the sand bars separating bay from ocean.

When to go

November to April for the roads and the birds; migrating shorebirds peak in autumn and spring. Hawksbill nesting runs roughly May to October, which overlaps with the rains. Early morning is best on the water.

Good to know

Boat hire is arranged informally and prices negotiated. Accommodation is a handful of basic lodges. Mangrove cutting and shrimp farming have affected parts of the system. Mosquitoes are severe.

Nearby

Playa El Espino lies east; Usulutan is north.

Key facts