How's the adventure travel and activities in and around Managua, Nicaragua?

Nicaragua has become one of the major target destinations of adventure travelers in Central America. Nicaragua is getting more tourists than Honduras and Guatemala. Most of the tourists who come here, come to see the volcanoes because Nicaragua has many active volcanoes. Nicaragua also has mountains and a lot of beaches.

 

If you come to Nicaragua for adventure travel, you will most likely be taken to a volcano, since we have a lot of them; we have...

Nicaragua has become one of the major target destinations of adventure travelers in Central America. Nicaragua is getting more tourists than Honduras and Guatemala. Most of the tourists who come here, come to see the volcanoes because Nicaragua has many active volcanoes. Nicaragua also has mountains and a lot of beaches.

 

If you come to Nicaragua for adventure travel, you will most likely be taken to a volcano, since we have a lot of them; we have seven or eight volcanoes here. (Apoyeque Volcano is seen pictured from space.) You will also most likely be taken to a beach community or you might be taken to a mountain trip. There is a mountain up north, close to Honduras and many tourists go there to see the beauty of the canyon.

 

The islands of Nicaragua are becoming popular nowadays as well. One of the islands of Nicaragua even has an airport. Isla Ometepe will remind you of Jurassic Park because of the wilderness that it looks like the movie that was filmed there. The first time I went to Isla Ometepe, I said, “Wow! Be careful of the dinosaurs that most likely live here!”

There are not many adventure travel activities in Managua. There are fitness centers and a canopy tour. You can zip line around a lagoon in the center of town but that’s about it. There is very limited adventure travel in Managua.

 

Around the Managua, you can have nice volcano tours at the Masaya Volcano National Park, which is half an hour away from Managua. You can drive up to the active crater, and from there you can take a 3 to 4-hour walk...

There are not many adventure travel activities in Managua. There are fitness centers and a canopy tour. You can zip line around a lagoon in the center of town but that’s about it. There is very limited adventure travel in Managua.

 

Around the Managua, you can have nice volcano tours at the Masaya Volcano National Park, which is half an hour away from Managua. You can drive up to the active crater, and from there you can take a 3 to 4-hour walk depending on how far you want to go. You can go to the Museum of Volcano and Tropical Nature.

 

You can also go to the Mombacho Volcano, which is a dormant volcano. You have to hike for about two and a half hours on an established trail to reach the old crater of the Mombacho Volcano. You can also do the Puma Tour of 4 hours in the nature reserve of Mombacho volcano. On both tour options you will get a lot of information about the cloud forest, its history, and how it functions. It is a really nice and decent hike with nice views of Lake Nicaragua and the whole region.

 

You can also go to the Isletas de Granada, which is 45 minutes to 1 hour away from Managua, depending on the traffic. You can either go kayaking or canoeing there. There are 365 little islands, which were created due to the eruptions of the Mombacho volcano. Kayaking around the isletas is really a beautiful nature experience. You will see a lot of water birds and monkeys. The little islands are inhabited by some people. Usually, the houses there are holiday homes of rich and famous expats and Nicaraguans.

 

You can also go mountain biking. To go mountain biking, you have to contact companies that offer mountain biking tours because they would know the villages and the forests around Managua where you can go mountain biking. It is not advisable to go mountain biking on your own. You should have a guide who knows the trails. Mountain biking around Managua is technically not that difficult, but in order to do this, you should be used to mountain biking for about two to three hours because mountain biking in the tropics is a little bit different. You will sweat a lot due to the heat of the sun and the high humidity, so you should be used to that first. Overall, mountain biking here is a nice way to experience and enjoy nature.

 

Hiking is another option for adventure travel around Managua. We also have some public and private nature reserves around Managua like Montibelli where you can walk through the reserve and go birdwatching and butterfly watching. Montibelli is about an hour away from Managua by car.

 

You can also go to Chocoyero el Brujo Natural Reserve, which is also more or less an hour away from Managua by car. There is a community of about 700 to 800 parakeets in Chocoyero. There is a walking tour coming to their spot on the small waterfall and a high rock wall. It is best to go there in the afternoon when all the birds are coming home to the little holes on the rock wall where they live. During the day, they go out in the forest looking for food then they come back in the afternoon, gather in the trees around the waterfall and the rock wall where they have their little holes. One of the parakeets flies to check the holes for any predators or if there is something else occupying the hole. Once that bird sees that it’s clear, it flies back to the trees to tell its couple that it’s OK to go to their holes in the wall. They sit for a couple of minutes outside of the holes and when the sun goes down, they get in. It is a really nice experience.

 

You can also go for a tough volcano tour at the Momotombo Volcano, which is an hour and a half away from Managua by car. Momotombo is 1,297 meters above sea level. It is an eight-hour hike up and down this volcano, so it is recommended only if you are hiking with a mountaineering or a hiking guide.