Craving cooler weather, head for Matagalpa, a city surrounded by a beautiful panorama of mountains. Driving through this region, visitors can appreciate the diversity of Nicaragua’s landscape. This region produces most of Nicaragua’s premium coffee, grown above 1,000 meters. Matagalpa is also the birthplace of two founders of the FSLN political movement who are memorialized here. Despite the turbulent history from the revolution and following Contra war, and more recent struggles due to the coffee crisis, Matagalpa is a lively and thriving city offering a different flavor than the hotter lowlands.
Activities In Town
The city radiates from two nice parks, Parque Rubén Darío to the south and Parque Morazán to the north, where a large cathedral sits on a square full of activity. The town can easily be explored on foot and two main streets, interesting for window-shopping and people watching, connect the parks making navigation easy. Matagalpa has a surprising amount of atmospheric restaurants and an active nightlife where you can find live music and busy dance floors. The INTUR office is helpful with tourist information; however, at this time most is in Spanish. Casa Museo Carlos Fonseca has an exhibit on its namesake. Fonseca founded the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) political movement in 1961 along with Tomás Borge – the movement that took down the Somoza dictatorship. After leading the party for 15 years, Fonseca was assassinated in 1976.
This area is known for making cerámica Negra, black pottery. Visitors can see artists at work at the Tradicional Cerámica Negra workshop, one and half blocks east of the cathedral just past Enitel, easily spotted by the towers. Many Europeans settled in this area more than a century ago; visitors may notice the influence. The foreign people’s cemetery can provide an interesting glimpse of Matagalpa’s unique history. Non-Catholic Nicaraguans were also buried here. A museum on coffee is anticipated to open soon.
Excursions Nearby
Central Highlands Area
The road north to Matagalpa and on to Jinotega is one of the most scenic highways in Nicaragua. In addition to the lush mountain scenery, you’ll see people selling iguanas, exotic birds, plants and colorful vegetables. Young boys may be filling potholes hoping for a córdoba in appreciation of their efforts.
If driving, consider getting a Rutas Turísticas de Matagalpa brochure from the INTUR office. Written simply in Spanish, this brochure gives a recommended tourist route and information between Carretera Managua and Matagalpa and Ruta Moyoa and Chagüitillo to Jinotega.
12 km north of town on the road to Jinotega is Selva Negra, a coffee plantation and resort with private forest reserve, virgin mountain forest and hiking trails, founded by German immigrants in the 1880’s. The cottages and restaurant are distinctly German. Selva Negra, ‘black forest’ in Spanish, is worth a visit and the 25 córdobas entrance fee is redeemable with coffee and cake. Visitors can see coffee harvesting in action November to February.
Visit one of the coffee beneficios, processing plants, south of town for a view of coffee being de-husked, sorted and packaged. At beneficio Café Esperanza, visitors may witness the ‘cupper’ at work, a professional coffee taster similar to that of a wine sommelier.
Jinotega, nicknamed ‘the misty city,’ is 33 km north of Matagalpa via a scenic mountain road worth the trip for the refreshing views. This pleasant town has a pretty parque central and a nice INTUR office with displays of local history, art, archeological finds and local cerámica negra pottery for sale. Northeast of Jinotega is the large picturesque Apanás Lake, good for walking and enjoying the outdoors. INTUR can provide information and directions.
Less than two hours by bus, Estelí is a medium size city bordering the Interamericana Hwy, Central America’s busy transit route. Today, it is the center of tobacco growth and home to some of the country’s first Spanish schools offering students a pleasant place to learn. Estelí has a Galería de Héroes and Mártires, telling the stories of men and women who fought in the revolution, and a good craft store near central park called Artesanías La Esquina, an excellent place for buying gifts. One kilometer outside Estelí is a nice waterfall called Salto Estanzuela. To the east of Estelí is the Miraflor Nature Reserve. Within the park is the visitor receptive cooperative Unión de Cooperativas Agropecuarias de Miraflor (713-2971).
Services
Banks; Internet and Internet phone; clothing stores; and supermarkets.
INTUR Tourist Offices Matagalpa 612-7060, Jinotega 632-4552, Estelí 713-6799
Transportation
Managua: Departures every 30 minutes, 3:30AM to 6PM, 2 hour and 45 minute trip.
Manauga Expresos: Departures every hour, 5:20AM to 3:20PM and 4:50PM the last.
Estelí: Departures every 30 minutes, 5:15AM to 6:15PM, 1 hour and 45 minute trip.
Jinotega: Departures every 30 minutes, 5AM to 7PM, 1 hour and 30 minute trip.
León Expresos: Departures 6AM and 3PM.
Masaya: Departures 2PM and 3:30PM.
