Sprawling across the Valle de las Hamacas at the foot of the mighty Volcán San Salvador is the urban melee of SAN SALVADOR , El Salvador's chaotic, frenetic and polluted capital. It's a city which is unlikely to win many hearts - on first impressions at least - with its crumbling buildings, raucous traffic and surrounding fringe of shantytowns. Earthquakes have robbed the city of most of its colonial architecture and under-investment in public buildings is often painfully obvious, while the legacy of war has left large slices of society without employment or opportunity. The daily theatre that passes for street life in the city centre reflects all of these factors, showing the public face of a metropolis that goes about its business without recourse to many of the advantages of Western cities.

For all that, San Salvador is a modernizing city, and the authorities are making a determined effort to create a more attractive environment in the old centro histórico . The plazas and parks have all been renovated and many of the city's street traders moved into indoor markets in order to free up pavement space and aid traffic flow. Extra police have been deployed on the streets and, although much work remains to be done, the city is a more pleasant place to visit than just a few years ago. A stay, however short, in El Salvador's capital is probably inevitable, and many people find it easier to get used to the place than they imagined, appreciating the diversions and services it offers - restaurants, bars, shopping, cinemas - that are unavailable in the rest of the country.

San Salvador is also a surprisingly green city, with a canopy of lush vegetation shrouding even the most unlikely of neighbourhoods, and a ring of encircling mountains that seem at times close enough to touch. Dominating the skyline to the north is Volcán San Salvador , accessible via the town of Santa Tecla , 13km from the city, while in the hills to the south lies the lush, extensive Parque Balboa , from where there are vistas right across to the Pacific coast. Beneath the park to the east is the predominantly indigenous village of Panchimalco , with its splendid colonial church. Fifteen kilometres east from the city is the country's largest crater lake, Lago de Ilopango , stunningly beautiful and with views on a clear day across to the peaks of Volcán Chichontepec, whilst to the west are the natural gorge, waterfalls and pools of Los Chorros , a favourite weekend retreat for harrassed city dwellers.