The Joya de Ceren archeological site is one of the most famous archeological sites in El Salvador and the Americas as well as being a UNESCO world heritage site.

Joya de Ceren is located in the department of La Libertad about 38 Kilometers from San Salvador, it is a popular tourist destination specially among archeologist and local students. 

This hidden jewel is one of the most important archeological site in the Americas because it shows the everyday life of a Mayan farming community that lived here around the year 400 and was abandoned around the year 600th after a volcanic eruption forced the natives to flee the settlement, however, this volcanic eruption covered Joya de Ceren in many layers of volcanic ash which in turn protected this site from the elements as well as keeping it intact, and in a sort of time capsule for many centuries until it was discovered in 1976 when some construction workers discovered it by accident while building some storage silos. However, it wasn’t until 1993 when it was declared a UNESCO world heritage site and the only one of its kind in El Salvador.