Nicaragua: Overview
The beautiful and multicultural Republic of Nicaragua joins the two American hemispheres and is a land full of unexplored beauty, inhabited by warm and friendly people; one of Central America’s best destinations. The Nicaraguan territory limits with Costa Rica to the south and with Honduras to the north. Its eastern coast is bathed by the turquoise waters of Caribbean Sea, while its west side enjoys the waves of the Pacific Ocean. In this tropical country you can enjoy a varied landscape of lakes, rivers, volcanoes, leafy forests and dreamt beaches gilded by the sun.
When to go
Nicaraguan climate is divided in two seasons, a dry one (December-May) and a rainy season (June-November). Although there is not a time when climate makes a visit to the country impossible, the best moment for visiting Nicaragua is during the first months of the dry season (December and January), since temeperatures are lower and the landscape is still green and exuberant. Perhaps you should avoid going at the end of the dry season (April-May), since the soil is cracked and the atmosphere is dusty. It is important to keep in mind that Nicaraguans spend Holy Week in the beach, so if you are planning on going on that same date, you must book in advance.
[titImportant information
Entry requirement for every visitor is a passport, valid at least for six months. Besides this, nationals from the following countries will be required a visa: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Algeria, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bosnia & Herzegovina, China, Congo, North Korea, Cuba, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Sierra Lioness, Syria, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, East Timor, Vietnam and Yemen.
The official currency is the córdoba. Traveller’s checks are not easy to cash outside the capital, the fronetiers or oficial exchanging offices of Multicambios and Pinolero; banks do not usually cash traveller’s checks. First class hotels and restaurants accepted credit cards. As the Nicaraguan córdoba is not easily converted outside the country you should only buy the amount you will need.
Tipping is not an extended habit in Nicaraguan economic restaurants, although in those of a higher category a10% is usually added when service is not included in the bill. Barganing is frequent when eating in oudoor markets.
Concerning health, there are some illnesses you must take into account when travelling, so you can take the hended precautions. There have been cases of cholera, malaria, dengue, tifus, rabies and hepatitis.
Where to go
Managua, the capital of the country, has still been victim of some natural disasters which left deep prints downtown. Some of the places worthwhile visiting are Palacio Nacional, recently restored, Plaza de la República surroundings and the caedral municipal, built beside a lake. There are, also, some interesting museums as Huellas de Acahualinca, where you can see several prints of humans and animals escaping toward the lake from the eruption of a volcano; and the Museo de la Revolución, which has several historical, mainly of the revolutionary war. If you are looking forward to enjoy the open air you can take a bath in the lagoons and lakes located in volcanic craters.
Ometepe, one of the world’s biggest islands located in a lake lake, is also a perfect place for those who want to visit volcanoes like Maderas (dormant) and Concepción (active). You can ascend to Maderas easily ando on top of it you can visit the coffe plantations. Ascending to Concepción, although possible, is a little harder, but worthy. This island is a tropical paradise of exuberant vegetation and varied fauna.
The wild Caribbean Coast was never colonized by Spain like the rest of the country, but it belonged to the British crown up to the 1800s. There, you can only visit Bluefiels, home of many ethnic groups. Happiness characterizes its inhabitants and the city has many reggae music clubs to dance on weekends.
Corn Island is the perfect place for spend some days enjoying the classic Caribbean experience, diving in the coral reefs, listening to the typical music, dancing, eating good food, drinking rum and laying in the beaches. Once the island was a hiding place for pirates in hope of intercepting gold loaded ships in their way the European continent.
The city of León continues to be the intellectual and cultural center of the country, full of monuments dedicated to the revolution, Sandinist murals and many peppered buildings. In spite of past earthquakes and wars, you can still see beautiful colonial churches, Spanish houses, an attractive cathedral, the biggest in Central America, and an interesting heroes and martyrs’ gallery from the 78’s revolution.
Granada, "la Gran Sultana", is the oldest Spanish city in the country and it is built in front of the imposing volcano Mombacho, in the northwest coast of the Nicaragua lake. Due to its exit to Caribbean Sea it has been an important comerical center. At the moment it is a main literary center which conserves its colonial atmosphere. You can enjoy a walk through its streets, visit the Columbus park and the cathedral or enjoy a pic-nic by the lake.
Festivals
The best festivals in Nicaragua are the celebrations carried out by each town to honor its patron Saint. For those celebrations people organize satyric representations of Spanish battles and masquerades processions. Of all those celebrations the most famous are the party of Toro Guaco in Managua, the one of San Sebastian in January and the one of Santiago in July.
