Archaeologists estimate that the verdant Tazumal area was first settled around 5000 BC. Part of a 10-sq-km zone, much is still buried under Chalchuapa’s more basic housing. The latest restoration, inaugurated in December 2006, restored the original stone-and-mortar construction in much of the ruins. A chain-link enclosure prevents visitors walking on the pyramids, but their close proximity to everyday Salvadoran life connect the site to the present in a powerful way.
An onsite museum displays artifacts showing active trade as far away as Panama and Mexico, with detailed explanations in English. Other finds, including the Estela de Tazumal, a 2.65m-high basalt monolith inscribed with hieroglyphics, are at the Museo Nacional de Antropología David J Guzmán in San Salvador.
