Unesco World Heritage Site #5 – Joya de Ceren

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Yesterday I visited Joya De Ceren, my 5th Unesco World Heritage site since the start of the blog. It was, in a word, underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of history to be told here, and the remains are exquisitely intact, but compared to other ruins throughout Central America, there just isn’t a lot to see here. My couchsurfing host and I spent about 25 minutes at the site, and apparently if you hire a guide they turn it into about an hour, but the museum pretty much tells the story itself. The town was covered in volcanic ash very suddenly (similarly to Pompeii) leaving many clues about the everyday life of the people living in the area. I would say, if you are in the area, it is definitely worth the price of admission ($3 for foreigners, $1 for locals, and $1 to park) but don’t plan on this using up the whole day, and don’t trek across Central America to see it either. If you’d like to read the official description from the World Heritage website click here.

Click here for a complete list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites I’ve visited.