Planes De Renderos means “Render Plans”, but that’s not very helpful in describing what it actually is. While visiting, I learned that “Los Planes” is a large natural walking park approximately 20 minutes southeast of the capital city San Salvador. But it’s also more than that. It’s an area that also extends into the town on top of the cliffs.
Higher Elevation = Cooler Climate
The walking park has a cooler climate than the capital city, which means it’s a much visited destination where tourists and locals can relax while escaping the hotter climate found at lower sea levels. Many families travel from different areas of the country to enjoy the park, especially on weekends.
Originally a historic area for coffee and orange farming, the area has been somewhat urbanized and benefits economically from the large number of visitors that come to the area.
Night at Los Planes
After driving for about 30 minutes up the steep incline on the curvy highway, my girlfriend and I walked around the area for a while and enjoyed the overlook of the city. From this view of more than 1,000 feet in elevation, we could see many mountains and volcanoes. It was an impressive view.
We had a fantastic pupusa dinner, with hot chocolate. The chocolate offered in restaurants in El Salvador is delicious and rich, because it’s produced from cocoa beans here in El Salvador. I wrote about the Chocolate here in my other post: “Chocolate From El Salvador I Incredible“.
The hot chocolate hit the spot, because after the sun went down the temperature dropped considerably. T-shirts were no longer sufficient.
After eating pupusas, we headed home. It was a beautiful night.
If you visit Planes De Renderos, just remember to bring a jacket or sweatshirt. It gets chilly up there at night and the breeze will go right through any thin layers of clothes that you are wearing.
