East to the Honduran border Travel Guide

East of San Francisco Gotera, a road continues through hot, low hills to SANTA ROSA DE LIMA , a messy but thriving place, with a large daily market, cheese industry and a well-maintained church. There's not much to do here, but it makes a useful stopover if you're coming from Honduras. The best of the few places to stay is Hotel El Recreo (tel 664 2126; US$5-10) on 4a Av Nte between C Giron and 1a C Ote, which has clean rooms with bath. The basic but adequate El Tejano (tel 664 2459; up to US$5), on C Giron between 6a and 8a Av Nte, is slightly cheaper, but has a 7am checkout. For eating , the very clean Comedor Chayito , at the corner of C Giron and 1a C Ote, does a good cheap comida a la vista (7am-6pm), while for something with a bit more splash try Taquería Tex Mex on Av G Arias between 1a and 3a C Ote. Banks , including Banco Cuscatlán, are clustered around the plaza at the centre of town. The Telecom is on C Giron, just down from the church.

Beyond Santa Rosa, the road continues for a further 10km before connecting with the Carretera Interamericana to run to the border at EL AMATILLO . Formed by the Río Goascoran, the border crossing is easy but busy, used by international buses and teeming with moneychangers and opportunistic beggars. On the Honduran side, buses leave regularly until late afternoon for Tegucigalpa and Jícaro Galán, 42km from the border; there are also direct buses to Choluteca, for onward connection to the Nicaraguan border along the Carretera Interamericana. A bank on the Salvadorean side changes dollars, colones and lempiras, though the rates are slightly better with the moneychangers. There is a US$2 fee to enter Honduras.