Bravo to the Tourism Ministry of El Salvador and Pro Bikes for helping AAI stage an amazing bike ride to showcase El Salvador’s tourism destinations. This ride went through remote villages where only mountain bikes or motorcycles had access. The areas were actually deemed unsafe until President Najib Bukele’s successful “Territorial Control” Program. The President wants to make all areas of the country safe for sports tourism of all kinds, including mountain bike riding, surfing, rock climbing, ultra-marathoning, wildlife, and above all enjoying the genuine friendship of Salvadoran people, perhaps El Salvador’s greatest attraction.
The mountain bike route for 140 participants started in the coffee town of Apaneca, just to the north side of Parke Nacional El Impossible and it’s tropical cloud forests. It then traversed narrow jungle trails and primitive roads through sustainable coffee plantations.
The bikers went around the volcanic lakes Laguna Las Ninfas and Laguna de Apaneca. It then went to an active volcanic fumarole named Los Ausoles and ultimately ended at Salto Malacatiupan, a warm river and waterfalls where many of the bikers went for a therapeutic swim. According to the team, including experienced riders from France and the USA, the 8 hour, 18-mile trip was the most challenging one experienced.
The interaction with the locals was perhaps the most rewarding, as throngs of people played music and applauded as the bikers went by their villages. It is planned that these sportsmen will bring economic opportunities through cottage industries which include restaurants, bicycle repair and manufacturing and guide services, to name just a few.
See videos below to see the start of the race. The many rugged topographical features have produced world-class athletes in El Salvador. Combined with the typical Salvadoran personality, polite and sophisticated, but wildly enthusiastic about making new friends, we invite the world to experience a sports adventure world that few other countries can offer.
