The Ruta de las Flores is a 35-kilometre drive through the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range, threading five colonial coffee towns: Nahuizalco, Salcoatitán, Juayúa, Apaneca, and Concepción de Ataco. Apaneca, at 1,470 metres elevation, produces some of the highest-quality coffee in El Salvador.
Juayúa hosts a weekend gastronomic fair every Saturday and Sunday — running continuously since 1997 — with grilled meats, fresh seafood from the Pacific, pupusas, and Salvadoran sweets. It's the most consistently good open-air food experience in the country. Plan to arrive by 11 AM; the line for the most popular stalls grows fast.
Concepción de Ataco gained fame around 2004 when a government program (Pueblos Vivos) sponsored mural-painting throughout the town. Today the streets are an open-air gallery. Several restored 19th-century coffee haciendas in the area offer tours from bean to cup.