The Camino de El Salvador
Walking Toward a New Future
A Pilgrimage for Hope, History, and Healing
There is a sacred power in walking. Every step we take on ancient paths is an invitation - to remember, to reflect, and to reimagine. Inspired by the Camino de Santiago in Spain and the vision of a Peace Camino in Jerusalem, I now dream of a new path: the Camino de El Salvador - a pilgrimage across El Salvador that awakens the soul, honors the past, and inspires a brighter future.
El Salvador, a land rich in spirit and scarred by history, deserves its own path of pilgrimage. A camino that weaves through its breathtaking landscapes, ancestral wisdom, and revolutionary legacy. A camino that transforms wounds into wisdom, pain into purpose, and memory into movement.
A Land that Holds Stories
From the towering mountains of Chalatenango to the sacred shores of the Pacific, El Salvador is a land that speaks - if we walk slowly enough to listen. The footsteps of ancestors, farmers, rebels, and dreamers echo through its soil. The Camino de Salvador would become a living museum of memory, a way for people - Salvadorans and global pilgrims alike - to walk through stories of courage, survival, and love.
It would pass through historic villages, indigenous heritage sites, and spaces of cultural resilience. It would uplift local communities, empower rural economies, and create new narratives rooted in dignity and pride. Imagine a trail that leads not only across geography, but across time - linking the wisdom of the past to the hope of the future.
A Path for Healing
El Salvador carries deep wounds - civil war, poverty, migration, violence. These traumas are not forgotten, and they shouldn’t be. But the act of walking, together, in community, can become a ritual of healing. The Camino de Salvador would invite pilgrims to grieve, to remember, and to release. Each step becomes a prayer for peace. Each encounter, an act of reconciliation.
As pilgrims walk, they would encounter stories - from mothers who lost children to violence, from farmers who stayed and resisted, from youth who dream of transformation. The path itself becomes a mirror: revealing what is broken and what can be made whole. It would also be a path of return - for Salvadorans in the diaspora, walking back not only to the land of their birth, but into a reconnection with spirit, community, and belonging.
Claribel Alegría, the Salvadoran poet, once wrote: “They thought they had buried us, but they didn’t know we were seeds.” The Camino de Salvador is a call to rise again - not in vengeance, but in vision.
Multiple Paths, One Heart
The Camino de Salvador will be more than a single route - it will be a constellation of paths, honoring the diverse geographies and stories of El Salvador. Pilgrims may begin from the mountains, the coast, the countryside, or even from abroad, but all paths will converge in San Salvador, the capital city - both literal and symbolic heart of the nation.
At the center of the city, the Plaza Barrios and the Metropolitan Cathedral, where Archbishop Óscar Romero once preached and is now entombed, offer a powerful and sacred place to gather. This plaza will become the ceremonial end-point, where pilgrims meet in celebration, remembrance, and renewal.
From the north (Perquín), east (El Mozote), west (Ruta de las Flores), or south (La Libertad), various Caminos will invite people to walk through their own histories, through nature, and through communities - each route carrying a distinct energy, but unified in spirit.
A Global Invitation
The Camino de Salvador would be open to all - locals and foreigners, believers and seekers, young and old. It would be a new kind of tourism: slow, soulful, and transformative. Just as the Camino de Santiago brought millions to the north of Spain, the Camino de Salvador could put El Salvador on the global map - not just as a destination, but as a movement.
A movement toward peace. Toward planetary consciousness. Toward shared humanity. A way for migrants to reconnect with their roots. A way for youth to rediscover pride in their land. A way for the world to see El Salvador not only for its past pain, but for its future promise.
We Are the Camino
As in all sacred pilgrimages, the Camino de Salvador would ultimately reflect the truth that we are the path. Each person walking it brings something unique - a prayer, a question, a longing. And as we walk together, we create a collective journey of purpose. This is not only a path across a country - it is a path across hearts.
El Salvador - land of the Savior - can be a beacon for healing and redemption. The Camino de Salvador can become its spiritual spine, calling people to walk in the name of memory, justice, and joy.
Óscar Romero said, “Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all.”
Let this Camino be that contribution.
A Call to Walk
We call on:
- The Salvadoran Government to recognize and support this Camino as a national and cultural initiative.
- UNESCO and global partners to protect its sacred memory and amplify its message.
- Civil society and NGOs to collaborate in infrastructure, education, and peacebuilding.
- Youth and communities to co-create, walk, and carry forward this vision.
Buen Camino, El Salvador.
Que el camino te sane.
Que el camino nos una.
