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Museo de Arte Sacre
Call ahead to make sure this intriguing museum is open. You’ve probably noticed this neighborhood’s churches are in some disrepair, a situation that inspired locals to preserve the region’s absolutely beautiful 16th- and 17th-century religious art right here, where it would be safe
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Sontule
This friendly community is surrounded by coffee farms managed by three working cooperatives. Sontule families once worked for just four prominent landowners who owned Miraflor and compensated their workforce with only room and board. When the Sandinistas took power and nationalized
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Nuestra Señor de Rescate
The most striking church in town, repainted a brilliant purple with a mix that uses huevos de amor (fertilized chicken eggs) donated by parishioners. It’s a national historic landmark, and the destination of an annual caravan of some 150 carretas (wooden ox carts) from Masaya each
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Iglesia Parroquial de San Juan Bautista de Subtiava
The Subtiava neighborhood is centered at this church, located about 1km west of the León cathedral. It’s better known as ‘Catedral Subtiava,’ and is the oldest intact church in the city. Built in the 1530s and reconstructed in 1710, its relatively plain beige facade and precious wo
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Reserva Ecológica La Maquina
About halfway between Diriamba and the beaches, take a break from dodging potholes at this excellent, respected private reserve that’s a fine place for a swim.There’s an on-site restaurant , or you’re welcome to have a picnic at the spectacular waterfalls just a few minutes from th
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Museo
Of all the museums and monuments dedicated to the poet that are scattered across his doting homeland, Museo-Archivo Rubén Darío seems like the one where you’d be most likely to run into his ghost. Exhibits are displayed throughout the house where he lived until he was a teenager,
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Museo Chorotega
Anyone with even a passing interest in archaeology should stop in at the one of the finest museums in the country. The collection focuses on pre-Columbian ceramics and is presented in a logical timeline, from the early inhabitants up until the arrival of the Spanish. There are abo
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Nueva Catedral
Just north of Metrocentro Mall is an unforgettable Managua landmark and the hemispheres newest Nueva Catedral, an architectural marvel that leaves most visitors, well, scratching their heads. Its not a mosque, really: the 63 cupolas (or breasts, or eggs; speculation continues) symb
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El Fortín de Acososco
The Guardia Nacional’s last holdout in León, El Fortín can be reached by the 2.5km dirt road that begins on the western side of Guadalupe cemetery, on the southern border of Barrio Subtiava. The fortress is next to a smelly garbage dump; you’ll need to ask for permission to enter.
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Museo Auka Tangki
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 on the ground floor of his home with his own savings in order to preserve Miskito language, history and tradition. Inside you’l
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Palacio de la Cultura y Biblioteca Nacional
Adjacent to the cathedral, the 1935 palace houses the Museo Nacional . The timeline starts only 500 million years ago, as Nicaragua is one of the newest places on earth, and takes visitors through the formation of the lakes and volcanoes – not to mention gold mines – before getting
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Muelle Viejo
Take a stroll along the wooden boards of the historic Muelle Viejo (Old Pier), where both Sandino and the Contras received arms smuggled in from abroad, the former with the assistance of the towns prostitutes. But the 420m-long piers biggest moment in the spotlight was in 1961, whe
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Rama Key
Located inside Bluefields bay, this barbell-shaped island is home to around 800 people - over half of all remaining Rama Indians. Isolated by the dominant Miskito culture, they still speak their own language and use their traditional government structures. Casa Historia (entry by d
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Fortaleza De Coyotepe
Built in 1893 atop Cerro de los Coyotes, this eerie fortress witnessed the last stand of Benjamín Zeledón, the 1912 hero of resistance to US intervention. The marines managed to take the fortress, watched all the while by a young man named Sandino, who vowed his revenge. In the end
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Concha Acústica
The trippy Acoustic Shell was designed by US artist Glen Howard and completed in July 2005. It overlooks Plaza de la Fé Juan Pablo II , which commemorates Pope John Paul II’s appearances here in 1983 and 1996. Other monuments in this area include the statue of Latin American libera
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Museo de Antropología
If you have just two hours in town, this is the place to go. Inside youll find some moth-eaten taxidermy, a wall of myths and legends and, best of all, a well-signed (in both English and Spanish) collection of pre-Columbian artifacts, many of them recently discovered by the Santa I
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Parque Nacional Volcán Masaya
Described by the Spaniards as the gates of hell, the craters that comprise Volcán Masaya National Park are the most easily accessible active volcanoes in the country. There are two volcanoes, Masaya and Nindirí at the park, which together comprise five craters. Of these, Cráter San
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Museo de Leyendas y Tradiciones
León’s most entertaining and eclectic museum, the Museum of Myths & Traditions is now housed in La XXI (the 21st Garrison). What makes this museum unmissable is the striking contrast of its main subjects: a quirky collection of life-sized papier-mâché figures from Leónese histo
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La Fortaleza
Properly known as La Fortaleza de la Limpia Pura e Inmaculada Concepción, this photogenic fortress was constructed between 1673 and 1675, commissioned after Granada was sacked three times in five years. The Raudal El Diablo rapids were key – they slowed the pirates down just long e
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Monumento Nacional Cañon de Somoto
Central America’s longest river, the Coco (or Wangki), runs all the way to the Caribbean, but her first impression may be her most spectacular. Gushing from underground, she has carved solid rock into this 3km-long gorge that drops 160m, and at times is just a hair under 10m wide.
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