Things to do in Northern Nicaragua
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La Gran Via
Chinese food comes hot, fresh and in large portions; the soups are great. Lunch specials are a better deal.
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Rincón Don Chato
It looks like a regular formica diner on the main drag, but this nifty nitch has the best batidos, or fruit shakes, in town - the pineapple-celery in orange juice is amazing. Also on the menu are Nica classics with your choice of meat, plus veggie burgers and other vegetarian options. Good breakfasts.
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Vuela Vuela
One of Estelí's best restaurants, serving delicious roasted meat, good salads and sandwiches, and big breakfasts (presto 'coffee' though…hmmm). Not the cheapest place, but worth the splurge if you've OD'd on gallo pinto.
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Cecocafen
Like the Ruta de Café without the luxurious haciendas, this community-based initiative for small-scale, sustainable tourism arranges visits and homestays in small coffee-producing villages. Cecocafen, three blocks east and one block south of the Museo de Café, not only arranges tours, but also supports women's groups and builds schools while it promotes Fair Trade coffee.
Although it can work with individuals, Cecocafen is set up for large groups, who usually contact them well ahead of time about visiting communally operated coffee producers, who work small family plots (averaging only five manzanas), such as Cooperative El Roblar, a women's organic coffee and veggie-gr…
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Museo de Café
There's a lot of information in the Museo de Café, almost all of it in Spanish, and very little actually pertains to coffee. Staff, however, who also operate a tour desk, are highly caffeinated, offer free cups of coffee, and also sell bags of the stuff.
This is actually more of a Nicaragua and Matagalpa history museum. It begins with a nice archaeology display, then segues into high-school-quality exhibitions about the city and region, from photos of beauty-contest winners past and present through a list of Latin America's great liberators, from Bolivar to Martí.
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Reserva Natural Cerro Apante
This must be among the easiest-to-access reserves in Nicaragua, with walking access (for hearty souls) right from town. Or, you could even hitch most of the way to the top of the cool, misty 1442m peak on the access road.
Either Intur or Marena may be able to find guides, if you'd prefer, and Matagalpa Tours offers Guided Hikes (Reserva Natural Cerro Apante) to the top.
There are two other entrances to different sectors of the park; one is just north of town on the road to El Tuma, the other on the road to Guadalupe-Samulali, off the Matagalpa-Muy Muy road.
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La Casita
La Casita is surrounded by gardens framing a mountain stream and is the perfect place to relax amid all the jungly loveliness. Here you can enjoy chai tea, homemade yogurt or the signature mariedas, a small loaf of whole-wheat bread with different toppings (veggies, hummus, cheese, whatever). There is a little shop selling spices, seeds, top-quality handicrafts and other interesting items in front, or you may prefer to wander out back and enjoy the finca (farm).
It's hidden about 1km south of town along the Interamericana, just past Cecalli.
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Turicentro Estelimar Science Museum & Pools
A good excuse for a 2km walk toward Jinotega, Turicentro Estelimar Science Museum & Pools has a small science museum with some pretty fabulous solar- and pedal-operated dinosaurs made out of old car parts, plus displays involving alternative energy, gears and hydraulics. There are also three attractive pools where you can relax afterward and big cabañas that are a good deal for groups and families.
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Matagalpa Tours
Matagalpa Tours does rural community tourism, and takes you to tiny towns (perhaps on mountain bikes?), such as the indigenous community of El Chile, known for its beautiful fabric arts. Among other offerings, it arranges one- to six-day guided hikes through the mountains; gold-mine tours and a Matagalpa City Tour; it has English- or Dutch-speaking guides, too. Spanish lessons are also offered.
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Estelí Cathedral
Although Estelí's most impressive attractions are in the mountains surrounding the 'Diamond of the Segovias,' the 1823 Estelí Cathedral is worth a wander, and the murals surrounding the parque central (central park) are interesting as well. Several parks display petroglyphs that were brought down here from the mountains in the early 1900s, many of which are now badly damaged.
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Restaurante El Disparate del Potter
On the road to Jinotega, this ridge-top restaurant marks the spot where driven road builder Charles Potter blasted his way through a wall of solid rock. Renowned for its onion quesillos and repochetas (a corn and cheese torta), the real reason you're here is the view. If it's a clear day, pay the fee to climb the spire of rock and check out the moutaintop view.
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Rincón Pinareño
Almost worth the trip from Managua - in an ordinario - this Cuban restaurant serves up crusty pressed sandwiches that skimp on nothing, truly delicious soups and more in a cozy dining room that can get packed at lunch.
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Restaurante Casa Italia
Not only does the friendly owner create eight kinds of spaghetti, lasagnas and pizzas, plus good antipasti, from Italian family recipes, he also teaches Italian classes, if you need to brush up.
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Supermercado Las Segovias
Self-caterers can visit Supermercado Las Segovias, a half block from PetroNic, a solid supermarket with great deals on gourmet coffee.
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Artesanía Nicaragüense
Among the largest of several souvenir shops clustered right here, with the area's incredible pottery and crafted leather items.
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Ananda Yoga
Yoga classes are offered at the Yoga Y Licuaudos Ananda health-food restaurant next to the Casa de Cultura.
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Market
The big, bustling Market is a fine place for fresh veggies, cheap thongs and much, much more.
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Casa Museo Comandante Carlos Fonseca
The low-budget but heartfelt Casa Museo Comandante Carlos Fonseca honors Commander Carlos Fonseca, the intense and bespectacled architect of the Sandinista Movement. He grew up in this humble adobe with his single mother and four siblings, like Sandino, caught between abject poverty and relative wealth after his coffee-scion father finally admitted paternity when Carlos was in grade school.
At age 19, in 1955, Fonseca joined the PSN (Nicaraguan Socialist Party) and started publishing Marxist tracts. After the 1959 Cuban Revolution he was invited to a journalists' convention in Havana, where he ended up staying to host Sandino discussion groups. This sort of thing didn't s…
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Hiking
Hiking maps with precise instructions (after going under the barbed-wire fence, take the small path to the left of the big bend in the stream…) are sold by Centro Girasol Café.
Routes include: Ruta Cerro El Toro (3-6 hrs - See the bullshaped rock and wonderful city views); Ruta de Cafe (3-7 hrs - Climb up into the organic coffee farms in the mountains around town); Ruta de la Guerra 1978 (1½-5 hrs - When Matagalpans fled the city in 1978, they hid at Cerro Buena Vista and Cerro Apante, there are fine views); Ruta de la Guerra 1979 (1½-4 hrs - The National Guard later retreated to scenic Cerro El Calvario, along paths now lined with pottery studios and forests); Ruta Sa…
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Grupo Venancio
When you tell your taxi driver 'Grupo Venancio,' three blocks east and three blocks south of Parque Morazán, he may ask why you want to hang out with lesbians and witches (brujas). But there are so many reasons! One of Matagalpa's best nights out, this women's collective runs an excellent bar and restaurant which shows movies, has live music and hosts all manner of woman-empowering events.
It's usually only open Fridays, with movies and a quieter crowd, and Saturdays, which get packed if the band is good; there's usually no cover. This is a good place to start looking for Matagalpa's thriving gay and lesbian scene, but respectful heterosexual men can and have scored here…
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Galería de Héroes y Mártires
Be sure to stop by the Galería de Héroes y Mártires, devoted to fallen revolutionaries, with walls of faded photos and personal effects, from clothing to weaponry, on display.
There are special exhibits (with a bit of signage in English) about Leonel Rugama Rugama, the warrior-poet whose last line was his best: when he and Carlos Fonseca were surrounded by 300 National Guard, with tanks and planes, they told him to surrender. 'Surrender, your mother!' he famously replied, which is one, quite literally, for the history books.
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Empresa Nica Cigars
Cigar tours are worth doing as Estelí produces some of the world's finest tobaccos. Most of the seeds are original Cuban stock, as are many of the curing and rolling techniques you're able to see firsthand. Tobacco is harvested March through April and porros (cigars) are rolled all year long. In general, you should make arrangements to visit a cigar factory at least 48 hours in advance; guides are always your best bet. Empresa Nica Cigars can arrange tours.
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Cecalli
About 1km south of town, Cecalli is an organic farming cooperative specializing in medicinal plants; it has a small museum with dried and fresh herbs that is well worth visiting. You can also check out the selection of herbal teas, organic shampoos, pomada Don Juan and other herbal remedies, or get a massage, have acupuncture, or just talk to a doctor about whatever ails you. No appointment is necessary. Afterward, La Casita café is right next door.
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Cerámica Negra Tradicional
Matagalpa, along with Jinotega, is known for its smooth, heavy black pottery, an effect achieved by specially preparing the volcanic clay, firing it until red hot, then removing bowls and pots with tongs and tossing cedar ashes over them. Cerámica Negra Tradicional, two blocks east of the cathedral, offers pieces by Doña Ernestina Rodríguez, including jewelry and tiny tea sets. There are several other shops nearby.
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La Vita é Bella
If you can't find it, take a taxi; if they can't find it, tell them 'Parañas Billares,' which is at the entrance to the narrow alley where this hidden gem serves up tasty Italian and vegetarian specialties in an intimate setting. Try the pizza (some of it on focaccia) or spaghetti vitabella, with a bacon and mushroom white sauce with olives, but start with a bruschetta and finish with an espresso beverage.
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