Northern Highlands
This petroglyph site alongside a stream just outside town features a swirl of moons, snakes and dancers 3m long and 2m high carved into rocks. The site is…
Must-see attractions in Nicaragua
Caribbean Coast
A massive stone monolith that rises from a hillside savanna outside Cuapa. If you walk from town, it will take about two hours to reach the peak…
Masaya & Los Pueblos Blancos
The original church at this location, also called Iglesia San Sebastián, was built around 1700; it was burned down by William Walker in 1856. The current…
Santuario de la Virgen de la Piedra
Northern Highlands
The principal sight in town is the lovely Santuario de la Virgen de la Piedra, where a statue of the radiant Virgin of Guadalupe blesses a kneeling…
Northern Highlands
The first settlement to cater to tourists, Cebollal remains the most popular. You can stay with one of many families or in more comfortable cabañas and…
Northern Highlands
A large farm that grows organic shade-grown coffee and is in the transition zone between the pines and cloud forest. It has a 'tobaggon' – a butt-bruising…
Little Corn Island
Little Corn's lighthouse is actually a metal tower that doesn't emit any light these days, but it does offer fine panoramas of the island and is a dreamy…
Northern Highlands
About a 20-minute drive further north from Sisle along the road that hugs the lakeshore, near the community of Yanque, you'll find the Comedor Norita,…
Iglesia Parroquial de San Pedro
Southwestern Nicaragua
This 1863 church on the eastern side of Parque Central is worth a look for its attractive classical facade, and a lovely fresco in the cupola showing a…
Matagalpa
Originally constructed in 1751 and used as a jail for indigenous rebels in the late 1800s, this church was rebuilt in 1917 by Franciscan friars. The…
Northern Highlands
The undisputed star of the town center is Nicaragua’s finest Parque Central. Former mayor Fausto Sánchez was a botanist, and he planted hundreds of…
Northern Highlands
This archaeological site up on a hill outside town features more than 60 zoomorphic petroglyphs, including many depicting deer. The path is not at all…
León
This church, two blocks east and one block south of San Juan Bautista, was constructed between 1706 and 1718. It's considered one of the best examples of…
Estelí
You'll still see some murals around the streets of Estelí, and although many of the original revolutionary pieces have been lost to development, there are…
Northern Highlands
This faux control tower lookout at the Parque El Avion offers fantastic views of the town, its tiled roofs and palm trees jutting out of a canopy of green…
Museo Archipiélago Solentiname
The Río San Juan & Islas Solentiname
Follow the trail to the right of the dock uphill through the avocado grove to this museum. The view and surrounding gardens alone are worth the hike…
Northern Highlands
Condega’s most unique attraction is the riveted twin-engine bomber used by the FAN (Nicaraguan Air Force) to bomb the region. It was shot down on April 7,…
Matagalpa
Built in 1874, Matagalpa's glorious, whitewashed neoclassical cathedral is flooded with light. Inside the sanctuary are a natural wood altar, gorgeous…
Masaya & Los Pueblos Blancos
Nicaragua’s first natural history museum (sort of) offers informative, if low-budget, displays that focus primarily on the ecosystem of the Río Grande de…
Granada
The cathedral, on the east side of the plaza, was originally built in 1583 but has been destroyed countless times since. This most recent version, built…
Corn Islands
This remote hillside is where Spanish artist Rafael Trénor has installed a cube (the lower half is buried to make it look like a pyramid) symbolizing one…
Northern Highlands
The unassuming community of La Empresa, just off the main road, is the surprising home of the Cascada La Luna, a towering 40m-high waterfall that splits…
Masaya & Los Pueblos Blancos
Parroquia El Calvario is a squat colonial structure with no spire, it's most remarkable for the extra-gory statues of Jesus and the thieves being…
León
This quaint park has a statue of the poet master and busts of other, lesser Leónese poets, including Alfonso Cortés (1893–1969), Azarias H Pallais (1884…
Northern Highlands
On the northern lakeshore in the village of Sisle, local fisherfolk will take you out on boat tours to nearby islands, including Isla Ave (US$2) and Isla…
Caribbean Coast
A tough 4km hike from town, this cave is an old Sandinista stronghold with many petroglyphs left by the previous indigenous residents. It's not well…
Granada
Originally called the Fortaleza de Armas when it was constructed in 1748, this lavishly turreted Spanish fortress still has the best views in town, over…
Southwestern Nicaragua
Four blocks west of the Parque Central, this beautiful wooden church (1778) is notable for several well-carved saints and an underground tunnel running to…
Estelí
The 1823 cathedral has a wonderful facade and is worth a wander. A number of interesting murals can be seen in the surrounding blocks, although most of…
The Río San Juan & Islas Solentiname
You will hear the residents of Isla El Padre before you see them. Set between Mancarrón and San Fernando and named for yet another priest who long ago…
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
León
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, built in 1743, is León's only church that's oriented north–south; it's historically connected to the city by the 1850 Puente…
Iglesia de San Nicolás de Laborío
León
Felipe III of Spain ordered this graceful church to be built in 1618. If you take the street east to the Ruinas de la Ermita de San Sebastián, you're…
Antigua Estación del Ferrocarril de Masaya
Masaya & Los Pueblos Blancos
Masaya's elegant former train station, built in 1926 on the north side of the city, is a local landmark. In 2013, the city announced plans to convert it…
Caribbean Coast
This ramshackle collection of stalls selling ripe produce, traditional fried-fish breakfasts and sweet, savory rundown (seasoned fish or meat cooked in…
Northern Highlands
With mossy columns, twin bell towers (although one was actually built in 2003) and a faded, chipped facade, the baroque-neoclassical Templo Parroquial de…
The Río San Juan & Islas Solentiname
The social heart of the town, this waterfront promenade overlooks both the lake and river and is always busy with children playing and couples taking a…
León & Northwestern Nicaragua
This smoking city park, about 10km north of town and accessible by 4WD or on horseback, preserves 50 manzanas of mostly primary forest, including a…
Corn Islands
Walk up the dirt trail behind the Sunrise Hotel in South End past the banana groves and you will be rewarded with panoramic views from Mt Pleasant,…
Isla de Ometepe
A place to see some of the finest remaining ancient excavated statues on Ometepe is beside the Altagracia church, close to the Parque Central, where a…
León
For something completely different, swing by the ultra-Gothic 1884 Iglesia Zaragoza. There's an interesting mix of architectural styles here – it looks…
