León
Three blocks north of the cathedral, the 1786 Iglesia de la Recolección is considered the city’s most beautiful church, a Mexican-style baroque confection…
Must-see attractions in Central America
Managua
The hollow shell of Managua’s Old Cathedral remains Managua’s most poignant metaphor, shattered by the 1972 earthquake – and slowly undergoing restoration…
Reserva Natural Isla Juan Venado
León & Northwestern Nicaragua
This 20km-long, sandy barrier island (in some places only 300m wide) has swimming holes and lots of wildlife, including hundreds of migrating bird species…
Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio & Around
A half-hour hike from the park entrance, the exposed Playa Espadilla Sur is to the north of Punta Catedral and gorgeous with pinch-me scenes of white sand…
Arenal & Northern Lowlands
Two kilometers northeast of Venado (Spanish for ‘deer’) along a good dirt road, these caves are an adventurous excursion into an eight-chamber limestone…
Panama City
This wonderful privately owned museum features the best collection of Panamanian art anywhere, an excellent collection of works on paper by Latin American…
Monteverde & Around
The exquisitely misty 310-hectare Reserva Santa Elena offers a completely different cloud forest experience from Monteverde. Cutting through the veiled…
Quepos to Uvita
Owned and operated by a Costa Rican family, this center is home to the coast's most impressive waterfalls. Two falls cascade through a protected reserve…
Isla de Ometepe
Climbing this 1394m volcano is challenging but worthwhile. Guides are required for the seven- to eight-hour round-trip trek (with four to five hours of…
Isla de Ometepe
This massive (and active) volcano is an Ometepe landmark. The seven- to 10-hour hike up loose volcanic stone to the summit of this looming peak can be…
Montezuma
A 40-minute river hike leads to a waterfall with a delicious swimming hole. Further along, a second set of falls offers a good 12m leap into deep water…
Western El Salvador
In the K’iche’ language Tazumal means ‘pyramid where the victims were burned.’ Archaeologists estimate that the verdant 10-sq-km Tazumal area – much of…
Museo de Arte Fundación Ortiz-Gurdián
León
Probably the finest museum of contemporary art in all of Central America, the Ortiz-Gurdián Collection has spilled over from its original home in Casa Don…
The Road to Chirripó
About 2km past the trailhead to Cerro Chirripó you will find the entrance to the mystical, magical Cloudbridge Nature Reserve. Covering 283 hectares on…
Isla de Ometepe
The excellent Museo Numismástico (Money Museum) documents the troubled history of the Nicaraguan economy through its coins and banknotes. Across the road,…
Uvita
Around 2.5km inland and uphill (toward Cascada Verde hostel), this waterfall plunges into an inviting deep pool, perfect for a refreshing dip. Visitors…
León & Northwestern Nicaragua
Flor de Caña rum is among the world's finest and it has been produced in Chichigalpa since the distillery's founding in 1890. Visitors are initiated into…
Southern Caribbean
Playa Cocles has waves for surfers who aren't keen to break skin and bones at nearby Salsa Brava (Costa Rica's biggest break). Instead, it has steep lefts…
San José
Though josefinos mainly do their shopping at chain supermarkets, San José’s crowded indoor markets retain an old-world, authentic feel. This main market,…
Catarata Manantial de Agua Viva
Central Pacific Coast
This 200m-high waterfall is claimed to be the highest in the country. From the entrance, it’s a steep 3km (45-minute) hike down into the valley (an hour…
Southern Costa Rica & Península de Osa
This site, 4km north of Sierpe, offers the best opportunity to view the mysterious pre-Columbian spheres created by the Diquís civilization between 300…
Catarata del Toro & the Blue Falls
Central Valley & Highlands
Find a beautiful 90m-tall waterfall that cascades into a volcanic crater (free for overnight guests) and two trail options through virgin forest (one 4…
Southern Costa Rica & Península de Osa
Set on a verdant hillside between Pavones and Punta Banco, Tiskita Jungle Lodge consists of 100 hectares of virgin forest and a huge orchard, which…
Santiago Atitlán
Maximón is a traditional Maya deity who resides in Santiago Atitlán. He appears as a life-sized but broken-legged effigy in a hat, dark suit and glasses,…
Museo Arqueológico Gregorio Aguilar Barea
Caribbean Coast
Mystical stone statues rise like ancient totems in the courtyard entrance here. It houses the most important collection of stelae in the country, with…
The Río San Juan & Islas Solentiname
Mancarrón's greatest human-made gift is Nuestra Señora de Solentiname, where populist priest Ernesto Cardenal ran a rather enlightened parish. Constructed…
Western El Salvador
Alongside volcanoes in triplicate, Parque Nacional Los Volcanes has hectares of lush forest that provide sanctuary for hundreds of migrating bird species,…
Guatemala City
A wonderfully presented museum and cultural center set in a house dating from the late 19th century. The owners of the house were collectors with eclectic…
Museo Histórico de la Revolución
León
León is the heart and soul of liberal Nicaragua. Stop into this museum for an overview of the Nicaraguan revolutionaries who stood up against the Somoza…
Southern Belize
Two Kekchí families in Big Falls village have opened up their homes as a cultural experience for visitors and both are excellent. The Cal family…
Central Valley & Highlands
In front of the Church of San Rafael, this park was a normal plaza until the 1960s, when a gardener named Evangelisto Blanco became inspired to shave the…
Corn Islands
This stunner of a beach arcs from a pile-up of local fishing pangas and lobster traps to a wild, jungle-covered headland at its far end. If you’re looking…
Southern Costa Rica & Península de Osa
While much of the Cordillera de Talamanca is difficult to access, Costa Rica’s highest peak, Cerro Chirripó (3820m), is the focus of popular two-day…
Central El Salvador
Known as the Pompeii of America, Unesco World Heritage Site Joya de Cerén was a small Maya settlement that was buried under volcanic ash when the Laguna…
Northern Highlands
A steep yet worthwhile hour’s hike from the cemetery and embedded in a boulder-crusted ridge is the town cross, originally placed here in 1703 by…
Fortaleza Santa Bárbara de Trujillo
Honduras
High above the waves, gazing over the Caribbean toward the European motherland, this 17th-century Spanish fortress could not have a more evocative…
San Salvador
Facing the revamped Plaza Barrios, the cathedral is the most significant landmark in the city and the resting place of Archbishop Óscar A Romero. In the…
Western El Salvador
Edging Guatemala, the mostly primary forest of Parque Nacional El Imposible shimmers with rivers and beautiful waterfalls. Hiking can get muddy and steep,…
León & Northwestern Nicaragua
Anyone with even a passing interest in archaeology should stop in here, one of the finest museums in the country. The beautifully displayed collection…
Caribbean Coast
Don’t miss Dr Dionisio Melgara Brown’s museum, a 10-minute walk along dirt roads curving away from the river. Brown, a retired teacher, built this museum…
