Travel in Nicaragua with volcanoes and rainforests - INTI Tours

A land of a thousand volcanoes

Experience the small country with its breathtaking volcanic landscape, rainforests and impressive colonial towns when travelling in Nicaragua. On the Pacific coast as well as on the Caribbean coast, Nicaragua stretches out towards the sea in wide dream beaches.

Parallel to the Pacific coast runs a chain of active volcanoes, which is why Nicaragua is also called the "land of a thousand volcanoes". The entire eastern part up to the Caribbean coast is covered by lush rainforest.

Hike along the flanks of the volcanoes through breathtaking natural scenery with cloud forests, take boat trips through grandiose gorges and observe rare animal species from your jungle lodge. Be impressed by the largest lake in Central America, Lake Nicaragua and its islands. Discover the UNESCO World Heritage Site of León Viejo as well as many a charming colonial jewel, for example Granada.

Let yourself be welcomed by friendly open-minded people.

Welcome to Nicaragua!

Country information Absolutely worth seeing Facts and figures Travel in Nicaragua Addresses

Our types of travel in Nicaragua

Examples of individual dream trips in Nicaragua

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Country information on NICARAGUA: „Land of a Thousand Volcanoes“

Nicaragua has a share of the Pacific coast as well as the Caribbean coast and stretches in wide dream beaches towards the sea. It borders Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The total area of Nicaragua is only slightly less than 130,000 square kilometres. The small country offers a breathtaking volcanic landscape, lush rainforests and impressive colonial towns. You will encounter friendly, open-minded people everywhere, even though, according to official figures, almost 30% of the population live in poverty. In Latin America, Nicaragua is the second poorest country after Haiti. The reasons for the poor economic situation are complex. They range from historical factors such as decades of oligarchy and a one-sided economic structure to frequent natural disasters.

Capital Managua:

Managua is the capital of Nicaragua and its name is said to mean in the indigenous language: "where there is a large surface of water". This refers to the many lagoons that stretch about 20 kilometres along the southern shore of nearby Lake Managua. Even within the city limits there are four small lagoons: the central one is the Tiscapa Lagoon, which also contains a natural reservoir. The Asososca Lagoon to the west is the city's main drinking water reservoir. South of it is the Nejapa Lagoon and to the very northwest of the city is the Acahualinca Lagoon. Managua has about 1.5 million inhabitants, and a good 2 million live in the entire metropolitan area. This makes it the largest city in Nicaragua and the second largest city in Central America after Guatemala City. The urban area has been destroyed by earthquakes several times. The most severe one destroyed over 90 percent of the building fabric in 1972. Managua has a tropical climate, the average annual temperature is 27.3 °C. The archives of the National Literacy Campaign of Managua were included in the UNESCO World Documentary Heritage List in 2007.
The city tends to be the starting as well as the ending point of a trip, because Nicaragua's international airport is located here. You can take a city tour, but the city itself has no sights worth mentioning.

Natural landscapes of Nicaragua:

Parallel to the Pacific coast runs a chain of active volcanoes, which is why Nicaragua is also called the "land of a thousand volcanoes". The most important settlement areas of the country are on the Pacific coast, where international life pulsates. In contrast, the eastern and southern parts of the country are rather sparsely populated. Two large inland lakes shape the geography of the country. One is the larger Lago Cocibolca in the southwest with several islands, which is also called Lake Nicaragua and is the largest lake in Central America. The other is the smaller Lago Xolotlan, also called Lake Managua, in the northwest. From Lake Nicaragua rises the Río San Juan, which forms the southern border of the country and flows into the Caribbean Sea. The entire eastern part up to the Caribbean coast is covered by lush rainforest. The so-called Miskito Coast is probably the best-known section of the Caribbean. In the very north of the country lies Nicaragua's highest peak - the Pico Mogotón with its 2,438 metres above sea level.

Absolutely worth seeing: 

• Charming colonial jewel - the city of Granada (UNESCO World Heritage Site) with a visit to the radiant blue "Iglesia San Francisco" and the enigmatic sculptures in the "Museo Antiguo Convento de San Francisco" as well as the colourful market
• León Viejo Excavation Site - UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Lago Cocibolca - third largest lake in Latin America: Boat trip to the island archipelago of Solentiname, consisting of approx. 35 islands of volcanic origin.
• Lago Xolotlan mit Bootstour im Naturreservat Juan Venado – fantastische Tierwelt
• Bosawa Biosphere Reserve
• You can take a boat trip in the beautiful Juan Venado Nature Reserve
• Volcanic mountain Loma de Tiscapa with a fantastic view of the crater lake, Managua and the volcano Momotombo.
• Volcanic mountain Cerro Negro with a view into the crater interior and fantastic views.
• And for the more adventurous, there's hiking, swimming and boating in the magnificent Somoto White Water Gorge.
• Visit to the El Jaguar cloud forest reserve with good hiking and bird watching opportunities.
• Jungle lodge with opportunities to observe various animals and learn about plants.
• Boat trip on the Rio San Juan near El Castillo.
• Los Guatuzos Nature Reserve, home to birds, monkeys, caimans and river turtles
• Isla de Ometepe and visit to the Charco Verde Reserve
• Active volcano Masaya with a view into the crater hole
• Visit to a cigar factory

Facts and figures of Nicaragua:

Land area: just over 130,700 sq. km  
Population: 6.5 million - 85% whites and mestizos, 15% people of indigenous and Afro-Caribbean descent
Capital: Managua with 1.5 million inhabitants
Highest mountain: Pico Mogotón, 2,438 metres high
Form of government: presidential republic
History: The Mayan country was conquered by Hernán Cortéz in 1521. Since 1839 Nicaragua has been finally independent from Spain. 
Economy: Nicaragua is the second poorest country in Latin America. However, poverty is on the decline. 29.6% of the population live in poverty ($2 or less per day), and the illiteracy rate is 17.2% for those over 15. Growth in 2016 was around 4.7%, and is expected to return to around 4-5% in 2017. World market prices for Nicaragua's main exports - coffee, beef, sugar and gold - have recently declined, and the harvest has been additionally affected by persistent drought. 
Currency: Cordoba Oro
Language: Spanish, Creol (Caribbean English) and indigenous languages
Festivals: Arts and crafts festival in Granada in March; in Managua, festival in honour of the patron saint Santo Domingo de Guzman in August; colourful folklore festival in Estelí in August; in Masaya, a colourful festival in honour of San Jeronimo takes place annually in October/November;

Travelling in Nicaragua:

Entry requirement: The passport must be valid for at least 6 months at the time of entry. No entry visa is required for tourist trips of up to 90 days. However, the purchase of a tourist card is required upon entry. This currently costs US$10, plus an entry fee of US$2. When leaving the country, the fee of US$2 is also required.
Vaccinations: A yellow fever vaccination is required for entry from yellow fever endemic areas. 
Climate/Travel time: Year-round travel season. The climate in Nicaragua is mainly tropical and subtropical. Rainfall varies greatly from region to region. You can expect 4,000 millimetres of rain on the Caribbean coast, while the Pacific lowlands and the west of the highlands are spared the humid trade winds, which start raining further east. This is why the average annual rainfall here is only up to 1,500 millimetres. The dry season lasts from November to April on the Pacific side, but only from February to April on the Caribbean coast. Rainy season is from May to October, hurricane season is from June to November.
Local time: CET and CEST -8 hrs.

Addresses:

Embassy of the Republic of Nicaragua
Joachim-Karnatz-Allee 45, 2. OG.
10557 Berlin
Telefon +49 (30) 206 43 80
Fax +49 (30) 22 48 78 91
www.nicaraguaportal.de/diplomatische-vertretungen/botschaften/embanic-de
embajada.berlin@embanic.de