Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
volcanic crater millennia ago lead from a humble collection of restaurant-bars down to the
water.
Museo y Galería de Héroes y Martires
OFFLINE MAP
MUSEUM
GOOGLE MAP
(Av San Jerónimo, parque central 1½c N; 8am-noon & 1-5pm Mon-Fri)
Inside the
al-
caldía
(mayor's office), this museum honors Masayans who gave their lives during the re-
volution. There are walls of photos and interesting displays of bomb-building materials
and weapons, as well as personal effects including musical instruments and a few Choro-
tegan funeral urns.
Fortaleza De Coyotepe
(admission US$0.70; 8am-6pm)
Built in 1893 atop Cerro de los Coyotes, this eerie fortress
witnessed the last stand of Benjamín Zeledón, the 1912 hero of resistance to US interven-
tion. The marines managed to take the fortress, watched all the while by a young man
named Sandino, who vowed his revenge. In the end it would also be the Guardia Nacion-
al's last stronghold, overrun during the Sandinistas' final 1979 offensive.
It's worth the climb just for the view: Laguna de Masaya, Lago de Managua, Volcán
Mombacho and, if it's clear, Volcán Momotombo, rising red and black above Managua.
Your entrance fee includes a Spanish-language tour of the underground prison, detailing
each atrocity.
You can walk 2km north on the Interamericana (Pan-American Hwy), but it's worth
getting a Managua-bound bus (US$0.30) or taxi (US$1) to avoid the scary traffic. Taxis
charge extra to take you up the steep hill. Otherwise it's a sweaty half-hour hike.
FORT
Churches & Plazas
There are 12 major barrios (neighborhoods) in Masaya, all of which were once separate
communities with their own churches, plazas and identities: Monimbó, San Jerónimo,
Santa Teresa, Villa Bosco Monge, Aserrio, Santa Susana, Las Malvinas, El Palomar, La
Ceibita, Cerro Fortaleza de Coyotepe, Sylvio Renazco and Cerro la Barranca.
, an attractive but scarred late-baroque beauty that the Spanish government has offered to
help repair. It watches over the parque central, formally known as
Parque 17 de Octubre
, in
honor of the 1977 fire fight that pitted local residents against Somoza's Guardia Nacional.
