Ahuachapán () is a city, district, and the capital of the Ahuachapán Department in western

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. The district, including the city, covers an area of 244.84 km² and as of 2007 has a population of 110,511 people. Situated near the Guatemalan border, it is the westernmost city in the country and is the center of an agricultural region producing primarily coffee. Ahuachapán is the site of a geothermal power plant and a hydroelectric station. The local geothermal activity produces many steam vents, visible throughout the surrounding mountains. Among other things, Ahuachapan is also the birthplace of notable Salvadoran poet Alfredo Espino and is about an hour's drive from the national wildlife park El Imposible.

History

Ahuachapán was founded by Mayan people of the Poqomam tribe in the 5th century, and was invaded in the 15th century by the Izalcos people. It officially gained city status in El Salvador on 11 February 1862 and became the departmental capital on 9 February 1899.

Geography

The district of Ahuachapán is located 100 km from the capital city

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

. To the north it borders San Lorenzo and the Republic of Guatemala. It is surrounded by San Lorenzo, Atiquizaya and Turín; by Juayúa, Apaneca, and

Tacuba Tacuba is a district in the Ahuachapán department of El Salvador. Church Of Tacuba It is located in Villa of Tacuba. It is head of the municipality of the same name in the department of Ahuachapán, at about 14 Kilometers of the city of Ahuac ...

to the south. The climate of the district is very warm with the temperatures oscillating between 22 °C and 27 °C. The principal river is the Río Paz. There are other tributaries but the Río Paz forms a natural border between

and

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

Local attractions

Monuments/main attractions

Near the Iglesia La Asunción, the Francisco Menéndez Park has a monument to honor General Francisco Menéndez who was president of the republic. There is a bronze plate indicating the house where he lived. One of the main attractions is the Central Plaza, which contains: the Central Park, known as Parque Concordia, surrounded by City Hall (a modern style building with a little resemblance of art deco, rebuilt after a fire in the 1950s), the town's main church, Iglesia de La Asunción, which is over 100 years old, and the Pasaje Concordia, also known as "the new place in town," that was restored in the early twenty first century and is a pedestrian-only street.

Lagoon of El Espino

It was formerly called Huitziapan or "Laguna de la Espina" and is four kilometers to the north-west of the city of Ahuachapan, along the international highway to Guatemala. Between this body of water and the city of Ahuachapán, the first battle in the history of independent Central America took place; the

battle of Espino A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, on 12 March 1822. . Other attractions include Los Ausoles (an area of geysers, small and large steam vents and bubbling hot fountains), the Lagoon Morán, Atehuecillas and Malacatiupán. Close to Las Chinamas is "Los Encuentros" where the "Rio Paz" river and the "El Pulula" river (Guatemalan river) merge. "La Poza de la Yerba Buena" of the Pueblo Viejo river in the Cantón Santa Cruz is nearby. El Arco Durán, situated in the perimeter of the city of Ahuachapán, is a replica of a famous French arch, with all kinds of delicious and typical Salvadorean "Pupusas" nearby.

Administrative divisions

Cantons

The district is divided into 29 cantons (regions). These are: Ashapuco, Chancuyo, Chipilapa, Cuyanausul, El Anonal, Cantón Platanares, El Roble, El Tigre, El Barro, Guayaltepec, La Coyotera, La Danta, La Montañita, Las Chinamas (Puesto Fronterizo), Llano de Doña María, Llano de La Laguna o El Espino, Loma de La Gloria, Los Huatales, Los Magueyes, Los Toles, Nejapa, Palo Pique, Río Frío, San Lázaro, San Ramón, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa Acacalco, Suntecumat y Tacubita.

Towns and villages in the district

*Agua Shuca *Ahuachapán *Ashapuco *Ataco *Calapa *cara sucia *Chancuyo *Chipilapa *Cuyanausul *El Anonal *El Barro *El Espino *El Jobo *El Junquillo *El Mojón *El Roble *El Saitillal *El Tigre *Guayaltepec *Hacienda San Isidro *Hacienda San Luis *La Angostura *La Coyotera *La Danta *La Guascota *La Montañita *Las Chinamas *Las Delicias *Llano de Doña Maria *Llano de La Laguna *Loma de La Gloria *Los Horcones *Los Huatales *Los Magueyes *Los Toles *Palo Pique *Río Frío *San José *San Lázaro *San Luis *San Ramón *San Raymundo *San Venancio *Santa Cruz *Santa Rita *Santa Rosa Acacalco *Suntecumat *Tacuba

Climate

Economy

The most important industries are

geothermal energy Geothermal energy is thermal energy extracted from the crust (geology), crust. It combines energy from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay. Geothermal energy has been exploited as a source of heat and/or electric power for m ...

, coffee, textiles and construction materials.

Traditions

The most important tradition is the Día de los Farolitos (Day of the Little Lantern Lights), held every year on 7 September, where a parade and celebration is conducted to honor the birth of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

Notable people

* Alfredo Espino * Ricardo Trigueros Deleón * Humberto Escapini * Roberto Galicia * Miguel Ángel Espino * Santiago José Celis * Mauricio Linares Aguilar * Francisco Menéndez * Alvaro Magaña Borja * Timoteo Menéndez * Mario Benjamín Castro * Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales

Sports

The

Once Municipal Club Deportivo Once Municipal was a Salvadoran football team from Ahuachapán that last competed in the Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador, Primera División, the premier division of Football in El Salvador, in 2018. It was nicknamed "' ...

(Municipal Eleven) is the local professional association football club of the Department of Ahuachapán. The home stadium of Once Municipal is

Estadio Simeón Magaña Estadio Simeón Magaña is a multi-use stadium in Ahuachapán Department, El Salvador. It is currently used mostly for football (soccer), football matches and is the home stadium of Once Deportivo de Ahuachapan, Once Deportivo. Once Municipal h ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahuachapan Municipalities of the Ahuachapán Department