Chiltiupán: La Libertad Costa

El Zonte is one of the most iconic surf destinations in El Salvador.

This small coastal community sits at kilometer 53 of the coastal highway, in the municipality of Chiltiupán, department of La Libertad.

El Zonte preserves its unique bohemian beach style, despite expanding the services and amenities available for tourists.

The area surrounding the El Zonte river boasts a variety of hostels, guest houses, hotels, and restaurants, plus spots to grab a surfboard or sign up for surfing classes.

Outside the small estuary and stretching west, you'll find a number of private residences and small hotels perfect for day trips.

The far eastern side of the beach houses higher-end, modern hotels and restaurants, including one of the most unique surf training centers in the world.

El Zonte delivers several perfect sections for surfing. The most popular is the point break, a rocky right-hand break that generates a fast, long line and occasionally tubular wave that can reach up to 10 feet (3.5 meters), projecting out to a small beach protected by a bluff at its eastern end, which demands respect on days with massive swells.

Two more sections lie to the west of the point: the first is a left wave that breaks over the rocky bottom of the river mouth, producing a fast, long, and powerful wave.

Finally, a beach break area runs steep and fast, with a short line, and some tube sections that crash on the sandy beach.

El Zonte showcases a dramatic landscape of cliffs and outcrops that thrust into the Pacific. Two volcanic black sand beaches separated by the river and a small estuary stretch along the coast. A series of intriguing caves at the western edge of the beach create the perfect backdrop for a unique photo shoot.

Getting to El Zonte is easy: take the highway from San Salvador toward Puerto de La Libertad, hop on the Road to Surf City bypass, and once you merge onto the coastal highway, continue west until kilometer 53, where you'll spot the signs for El Zonte.