Los Planes de Renderos

Los Planes de Renderos is the ridge south of San Salvador where the city ends and the ground rises, cooler than the valley and lined with restaurants looking back over the capital. It is best known for pupusas: a strip of pupuserias along the road serves them through the evening, and the area is the standard place for a Salvadoran to take a visitor for a plate of them with curtido and salsa. Parque Balboa, a municipal park on the ridge with gardens, a viewpoint and paths, and the Puerta del Diablo above it, complete the outing. The view over San Salvador at night, with the city lit below and the volcano behind it, is the reason people come at that hour.

What you actually see

• The pupuseria strip - the restaurants serving pupusas along the ridge.
• The city view - San Salvador below, best after dark.
• Parque Balboa - the municipal park and gardens on the ridge.
• The volcano - San Salvador volcano behind the city on clear days.

When to go

November to April for clear views. Evenings are when the pupuserias are busiest and the city view works. Weekends are crowded with families from the capital.

Honest expectations

The area is busy and commercial rather than scenic in itself. Traffic on the ridge road at weekends is heavy. Haze can obscure the daytime view. Pupuserias vary considerably in quality.

Nearby

Puerta del Diablo is above; Panchimalco lies beyond it.