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Joya de Cerén was a farming village that was completely buried by volcanic ash from the eruption of the Loma Caldera volcano around 600 A.D. Sites in this area are small—there were too many earthquakes to build big cities or tall temples. The site is interesting because the ash preserved everything. The people seem to have escaped, but they left all their stuff behind.
It was discovered in 1976 when the supervisor of a construction project noticed that the ash didn’t scoop up easily. He stopped the bulldozers and contacted the archaeology authorities. Joya de Cerén is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Only about 5% of it has been excavated so far. There are houses, storage areas, and a sweat lodge. One of the houses has a stone bed.
Open Tuesday to Sunday 9am – 4pm
Guided tours are given every 15 minutes (you have to go with a guide)
Admission: $3.00 for tourists, $1.00 for locals and free for children under 8 years of age and for adults over 60
Parking: $1.00
Written Jul 15, 2010
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The visit is divided in three areas. You can´t visit the place by yourself, a guide will explain the history and descripctions of the ruins (included in the entrance fee). The main construction in this area is the Shaman´s house. Very well preserved, it even has some decoration on the walls.
Updated May 8, 2006
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This area has a big building with two small windows and two doors. As in the other parts of the site, this house is also surrounded by ash layers to prevent the crumbling. The color of the walls is caused by the heat of the ashes (but some parts of the interior have small red painting parts).
Written May 8, 2006
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The area 2, has an amazing structure; the mayan sauna (and another house). This town wasn´t a religious center, so you can see how was the normal life of ordinary people (with high standarts for their time).
Written May 8, 2006
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After paying the entrance fee ($2), at the left side is located the museum. A small but interesting place to understand a little of how was the place before and after the eruption. Also some ceramics and tools founded in the site.
Written May 8, 2006
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The Joyas de Ceren is the Pompeii of the Americas. Around 550 AD plus or minus 50 years, a volcano erupted 600 meters away from this Mayan Village. Ashes from the Eruption covered this ruins and preserved them in prime conditions until they where rediscovered in 1976. Paraphrased from the sight's museum.
Written Sep 14, 2002
Address: La Joya de Ceren
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There were so few taxis in Santa Ana and some of them want to charge me around $50 for the Joya de Ceren and Lago de Coatepeque trip (3-4 hours trip), then thanks God I found Moises , a very nice man who charge me $40 and it was a nice companion, he did not know about Joya de Ceren but soon we realized is very close (no more then 40 min drive). I strongly recommend the services of this man which is located in Santa Ana downtown. His mobile is 70033791
Written Jan 1, 2012
Phone: 70033791
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The ruins are located 30 kms of San Salvador. You can go by bus, take any bus to Santa Ana or La Libertad, and ask the driver to stop in the main road (carretera Interamericana), then you can take a tuk-tuk to the ruins. Of course a taxi is the safest and confortable way to go.
Written May 8, 2006
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This sight is well known among Salvadoreños so with basic Spanish in hand and tons of time in your hands you can definitly bus it over there in a day with no problems. It lies a few hours from San Salvador.
Updated Sep 14, 2002
This ruins located in the La Libertad department, close to San Salvador (30kms). It´s the only mayan site, that presents a close look of the way of life of normal people in the maya civilization. The...
La Joya de Ceren, is often called the Pompeii of the Americas. After all, the town was covered with ashes from a volcanic eruption hundreds of years ago. The discovery of this amazing site is more...
Build your own Joya de Cerén page
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