Parque Ecológio de Cinquera and The Village of Cinquera

Description:

• Parque Ecológio de Cinquera is a 3,921-hectare (9,690-acre) preserve and forest 1 hour from Suchitoto. It's not as grand as Parque Imposible or Montecristo but it has a small waterfall, a few trails, and is worth a walk in the woods when paired with the historic village of Cinquera located a few minutes from the park entrance.

  The tiny village of Cinquera was a stronghold of guerrilla resistance during the civil war and numerous buildings, including the church, have been preserved to show bomb and bullet damage inflicted by government troops. The town square also proudly displays the tail of a downed army helicopter and a mural depicting the history of the war and the image of the brutally executed 15-year-old girl who was the town's first martyr. A separate mural depicts the two ninth-grade boys whose call to arms is said to have sparked the guerrilla resistance in the region. Spanish-language tours of the town are available through La Asociación de Reconstrucion y Desarrollo Municipal or ARDM (Main Square 1 block from the Alcaldía; tel. 503/2389-5732; ardmcqr@yahoo.es). Or ask around town for Spanish-speaking Cinquera resident Don Pablo, who can provide a unique firsthand and sadly brutal account of the war.

  To get here, take bus no. 482 from Suchitoto, which leaves Suchitoto daily at 9:15am and 1:30pm. It returns from Cinquera only once a day at 1pm. The trip takes 1 hour and costs 80¢ (40p).

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2010