-
El Mariposario
Flutter over for a tour of this butterfly garden, run by a local women’s collective. Its located on Loma Nelson, the hill from where Horatio Nelson bombarded the Spanish fortress.
-
Museo Arqueológico
Recently renovated, this polished museum up the hill from the church houses a small but intriguing collection of pre-Columbian metates, pottery and idols unearthed in the archipelago.
-
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, built in 1743, is Leóns only church oriented north-south, and historically connected to the city by the 1850 Puente Guadalupe, built across the Río Chiquito.
-
Christ of Mercy Statue
This 25m statue of Jesus – one of the tallest in the world – overlooks the town. Take the one-hour hike up to catch a great birds-eye (or son of Gods eye) view of the harbor and ocean.
-
Maroon Key
The closest key to the mainland, this tiny football-field-sized patch of white sand and coconut trees is completely uninhabited and the perfect place to indulge in your shipwreck fantasies.
-
Pozo la Pila
A small layered waterfall feeds this lovely round swimming hole enclosed by rock walls. The water flows from a local spring so is clean and unlike other falls in the area doesnt dry up.
-
Mausoleo de los Héroes y Mártires
A monument to the local heroes, the eternal flame of the Mausoleum of Heroes & Martyrs rests within a small plaza just north of the parque central, surrounded by the city’s best murals.
-
Casa del Pueblo
This was rebuilt during the Alemán years with the help of the Taiwanese government as offices for the president, but is now home to the controversial Consejos de Poder CiudadanoCPCs (CPCs).
-
Museo Arqueológico Julio César Salgado
Packed with ceramic bowls, studded incense burners, and stone tools dating back to AD 300. A map in the corner marks some 60 unexcavated or partially excavated archaeological sites in the area.
-
Iglesia San Juan
Although Iglesia San Juan is usually closed to the public, check out the surrounding neighborhood strung between La Asunción and the lake, with more than a dozen hammock workshops and factories.
-
Casa de Cultura Leonel Rugama
In the bullet-hole marked former home of a high-ranking Somoza official, the Casa de Cultura offers a range of art, dance and music classes to locals, even as the building seemingly falls apart around them.
-
Casa Natal Sor María Romero Meneses
Just south of the main road is the poorly signed Casa Natal Sor María Romero Meneses, where a small collection of artifacts and original writings mark the birthplace of Central Americas first official saint.
-
Reserva Ecológica Zacatan
This is a 12-hectare swath of secondary tropical dry forest 2km back from the beach. There are interpretive trails and a swimming hole and plenty of monkeys, iguanas and morpho butterflies in residence.
-
Monoliths
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 handful of softly eroding monoliths still stand sentry.
-
Vincent Key
This uninhabited island is easy to spot by the huge rusted metal buoy in its shallow waters. It has just a half-dozen palm trees so theres not much shade, but theres also no sand flies as the wind blows right through.
-
Finca San Ramón
At one of the closest coffee farms to town you can hike trails to vistas overlooking Jalapa, and see over 40 varieties of tropical flower. Expect butterflies and hummingbirds en masse. Private round-trip transport costs around US$10.
-
Parque Japonés
This not-particularly-Japanese park, nestled in the back blocks of the Metrocentro area, is a great place for a bit of time out – there are plenty of trees, some walking tracks and a couple of good playgrounds to keep the kids happy.
-
Iglesia Guadalupe
Chinandega has some seriously striking churches, including 1878 Iglesia Guadalupe, which despite the radiant and rather grandiose colonial-style facade has a simple precious wood interior with an exceptionally lovely Virgin.
-
Cathedral de Granada
The Cathedral de Granada, on the east side of the plaza, was originally built in 1583 but has been destroyed countless times since. This most recent version, built in 1915, has four chapels; a dozen stained-glass panels are set into the dome.
-
Seventh
The most beautiful church in town, it was getting its lovely whitewashed wooden boards replaced by concrete at the time of research, but its still worth a look. Come for Saturday-morning services and listen to the Creole gospel choir.
Total
303 -travel
FirstPage PreviousPage NextPage LastPage CurrentPage:
8/16 20-travel/Page Goto:
