Natural Nicaragua

Day 1 — Managua

Clients will be met on arrival at Managua airport by our agent and transferred to their nearby overnight accommodation in the city.

Day 2 — Managua to Selva Negra

After breakfast, clients will be collected from their hotel and set off for Matagalpa in Nicaragua’s Northern Highlands, a journey of around 2 ½ hours.

Surrounded by hills and mountains, the region around Matagalpa & Jinotega is famous for its coffee, beautiful cloud forest, indigenous communities and birdwatching opportunities.

Your base for the next 2 nights, Selva Negra, part sustainable coffee plantation, part nature reserve.  The plantation is still run by descendants of the original German settlers who brought the coffee trade to Nicaragua.

Having checked into your accommodation, the early part of the day is free for you to relax and recover you’re your travels.

Then, before dinner, you will set off on a guided, night time wildlife walking tour around the reserve. With just a torch, you will explore the trails and listen out for the nocturnal sounds of nature all around you including possums, bats, frogs, wild cats, and owls.

Day 3 — Selva Negra (Bird spotting tour)

At approximately 07.30, you will be collected from your bungalow for a bird spotting tour of the reserve.

There are so many birds at Selva Negra that even novice birders have an opportunity to identify dozens of species in a single day, thanks to the diversity of habitats on the property.

Selva Negra’s virgin cloud forest lies at an altitude of between 1300 and 1500 metres above sea level, astride the continental divide between the Pacific and Atlantic lowlands.

As well as coffee, the plantation is full of a variety of fruit trees that cast shade on our coffee plants. In addition, several marshy ponds around the plantation provides additional habitats for birds.

The afternoon is then free for you to relax and explore your surroundings on your own.

Day 4 — Selva Negra to Leon (Telicia volcano hike)

Departing Selva Negra after breakfast, you will set off for Leon, a journey time of approximately 2 ½ hours.

Having dropped your bags at the hotel, you will then proceed to Telica Volcano, located some 30kms from the city and one of the most active volcanoes in Nicaragua.

The tour starts with transport to the trail, from where you hike to the foot of this astonishing volcano, followed by a further hike up to the crater. From here, you can take in panoramic views of several nearby volcanoes and, if you’re lucky, see magma. In total, the total hike can take up to 4 hours, and a fair level of fitness is required.

You will then return to Leon in the late afternoon.

Day 5 — Leon (Juan Venado Reserve)

After breakfast, you will be collected from your hotel for a morning’s walking tour of Leon’s historic city centre.

Enroute, you’ll see a number of Leon’s famous churches, including the largest and most important of them all, the UNESCO World Heritage listed Cathedral, the largest in Central America.

Also included are visits to the colourful fruit & vegetable market and, on a slightly more cultured note, the outstanding  Ortiz Gurdian Museum of contemporary art, one of the finest such galleries in Latin America.

After a break for lunch, you will then continue by car out of town (approx 40 minutes) to Las Penitas beach on the Pacific coast.

From here, you will board your motor boat for an approximate 2-hour tour of the Juan Venado Island Nature Reserve and its nature-rich mangroves, an important nesting spot for both turtles and birds.

You will then return to Leon in the late afternoon.

Day 6 — Leon to Granada (Multiple stops enroute)

Having checked out of your hotel, you will be collected by your guide at approximately 08.00 for the 30-minute drive to Leon Viejo.

The original location of Leon was destroyed by a series of earthquakes as well as a devastating volcano in 1610, leading its residents to relocate the city to its current site shortly thereafter.

Exploring the ruins of Leon Viejo takes no more than an hour and, while this is no Pompei, it is still an atmospheric and fascinating site, often almost entirely free of visitors, which your guide will bring to life. (Please note that the site is closed on Monday).

From there, it is a further 2-hour plus drive to Masaya volcano, very much still active, and where (subject to conditions at the time of your visit) it will hopefully be possible to peer into the cauldron.

From the volcano, it is just a short drive to its namesake town where there will be an opportunity to explore the handicraft market, one of the best in Nicaragua and all very laid back.

You will then proceed to the Catarina viewpoint overlooking Apoyo Lagoon, both for a spot of lunch and to take in the views, before ending the day with a visit to a traditional pottery within the village of San Juan del Oriente.

From there, it is just a short, 30-minute drive to Granada where you will be dropped at your hotel.

Day 7 — Granada

After breakfast, you will be collected from your hotel by your guide for a morning’s walking tour of Granada.

Undeniably one of the most picturesque and agreeable towns in Latin America, Granada is laid out in a traditional, colonial grid style, with the leafy Parque Central and grand Cathedral both at its heart and a broad avenue leading down to Lake Nicaragua.

No matter where you find yourself in Granada, you’ll be wandering along streets lined with picture-postcard, brightly painted buildings and, for the most part, surprisingly little traffic. Throughout Granada there are a number of beautiful churches, no two the same, and, at two such churches, there is also the opportunity to climb the bell tower and enjoy views over the town’s rooftops.

At the end of the tour, your guide can provide recommendations for the best lunch options – perhaps the Garden Cafe – after which the remainder of the afternoon is free for you to relax at the hotel or explore further on your own.

If exploring town, be sure not to miss the excellent Museo San Francisco in the heart of town.

Day 8 — Granada (Mombacho Volcano & Isletas de Granada)

After the previous day’s culture vulturing, today is a double header focussed on the great outdoors, with both destinations located just a short distance from the centre of Granada.

Accordingly, after an earlyish breakfast, you will be collected from your hotel at around 08.30 for the 30-minute drive to Mombacho Volcano.

Your transfer vehicle from Granada can make it half way up the side of Mombacho but, to get to the very top, as the road steepens, you will need to get out and switch to either a 4×4 or a specially converted, open-top truck.

Having reached almost the top of the volcano, your guide will take you on a 1-hour plus trail that winds it way around the top of the crater as well as deviating off to enjoy spectacular views back towards Granada and Lake Nicaragua. If you would prefer something more arduous, there are also trails that take anything 2 to 4 hours.

Having completed the trail, you will then return to Granada in time for lunch and a break (alternatively, if you’re up for an adrenaline rush, there is a nearby zip-wire course).

At around 3pm you will again be collected from the hotel for another short transfer, this time no more than 15 minutes, to a small dock on Lake Nicaragua.

From the dock, you will set off on an approximate 2-hour boat tour of the wonderfully picturesque Isletas de Granada of which there are said to be exactly 365. Many of these islands have been occupied by local communities for countless generations while others are now home to wealthy outsiders with their luxurious homes. Others are uninhabited, save that is for a wide variety of flora and fauna including bats.

One of the smaller islands, which you will be able to get out of the boat and visit, is home to San Pablo fort, a tiny 17^th century remnant of a number of such forts that were built to guard Granada against attacks by pirates, many of them British.

Day 9 — Granada to Solentiname Islands

After an early breakfast, you will depart Granada for the approximate 5-hour drive to San Carlos in South East Nicaragua.

On arrival, you will be dropped off at the port where a representative will be waiting to escort you to your boat that will take you to the Solentiname Islands, an archipelago of 36 islands that has been declared a National Monument on account of both its natural and cultural attributes.

Having dropped off your bags at the hotel, you will first head to Mancarron, the main island of the Solentiname archipelago, where you will visit the famous adobe church of poet Ernesto Cardenal and the community of skilled artisans.

You will then continue to La Venada Island to meet a local family with several generations of painters. Last stop on your tour is San Fernando Island, with a museum dedicated to the history of the islands and the Casa de Taller, where different crafts are displayed and on sale.

Day 10 — Solentiname Islands to Indio Maiz via Los Guatuzos

After breakfast, you will be collected from your hotel at around 08.00 and proceed by boat to the nearby Los Guatuzos Wildlife Reserve, one of the most extensive wetland areas in Central America and home to two distinct climate zones, namely tropical humid forest and tropical dry forest.

Besides being home to over 400 bird species, the reserve is also home to endangered species like the spectacled caiman, the green iguana, river turtles, jaguars and tapirs. After slowly navigating the Rio Papaturro to take in both the flora and fauna of the reserve, you will then return to the Solentiname Islands for lunch.

Returning to San Carlos after lunch, you will then board your third boat of the day, a private, 2-hour plus journey winding its way along the Rio San Juan to your accommodation for the next three nights, Guacimo Lodge.

Day 11 — Indio Maiz Reserve (Canoe & Hike)

After breakfast, you will meet your local guide at the reception. Once everyone is ready (you may be joined by other guests at the hotel), you’ll be provided with rubber boots and capes, and then board a canoe to paddle down the Bartola River.

Entering the Indio Maiz Reserve you will then leave your canoes and enjoy a gentle, 2-hour hike through the reserve with your guide, taking in the varied flora and fauna.

After the canoeing and hike, there will be an opportunity to enjoy a refreshing swim in El Playon river before returning to the lodge.

Day 12 — Guacimo Lodge (Optional Excursions)

Today is free for you to book further, local excursions through the hotel (not included in the price) and / or simply relax at the lodge and enjoy the views of the river and surrounding forest.

Day 13 — Guacimo Lodge to Apoyo Lagoon

After breakfast, you will return the way you came, the picturesque 2-hour plus boat journey along the Rio San Juan back to San Carlos.

On arrival in San Carlos, you will meet with your driver for the onward, 5-hour drive to your final destination, the beautiful and spectacular Apoyo Lagoon.

After a long day travelling, and having checked in at your hotel, the remainder of the day is free for you to relax with a good book, take in the views and go for a swim in the calm waters of the lagoon.

Day 14 — Apoyo Lagoon to Managua Airport

Depending on your flight time, you will be collected from your hotel for the approximate 70-minute transfer back to Managua airport in good time for your return flight home.