San Miguel is El Salvador's third-largest city, set in the hot eastern lowlands about 140 km from San Salvador. It is the commercial capital of eastern El Salvador — a working city of around 250,000 people that functions as the main transit hub for the region. Most travelers pass through, but there is more here than the transit stop reputation suggests.
The city sits under the cone of Volcán Chaparrastique, an active stratovolcano that rises to 2,130 m and is visible from virtually everywhere in the city. The volcano last erupted in 2013. On clear mornings the cone is sharply defined against the sky; by afternoon it often disappears behind cloud.
Every November, San Miguel hosts the Carnaval de San Miguel — by most accounts the biggest street carnival in Central America, drawing hundreds of thousands of people from across El Salvador and the region. If you are anywhere in the country in the third week of November, come here.
The historic centre has a handsome cathedral on the main park and a street grid that is pleasant enough to walk in the cooler hours of the morning. The surrounding region offers two good natural escapes: Laguna El Jocotal, a Ramsar-listed bird reserve south of the city, and Laguna de Olomega, a volcanic crater lake to the southeast with local fishing villages and good birdwatching. Both are within an hour of the city.
La Unión, about 45 km east, is the main port on the Gulf of Fonseca and the departure point for the Golfo de Fonseca islands.