Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
time here to just five minutes. From here, community-run
horseback-riding tours
(US$4)
can take you toward the summit.
There's a night tour (US$10 per person, 5pm to 7pm) where you can witness millions
of bats leaving a nearby cave... spooky.
Sleeping & Eating
Hotel Volcán Masaya
( 2522-7114; s/d US$27/37)
There's no camping, but this place, right by the park entrance,
has bare but comfortable rooms complete with screened-in porches. It only serves break-
fast (US$2) and snacks, and restaurants are a long walk along the busy road; consider
bringing food with you.
HOTEL
$$
Getting There & Away
Any Managua-bound bus from Masaya or Granada can drop you at the entrance, but it's a
steep, hot climb to the crater; hitching is definitely possible. Consider taking a round-trip
taxi from Masaya (US$8) or Granada (US$15), including an hour's wait at the top. Most
tour outfits in Granada come here as part of a Masaya day trip, including the markets and
Catarina overlook, for around US$15 per person.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Nindirí
POP 17,300
Only 3km north of Masaya, the much more adorable town of Nindirí may have been even
more important than Monimbó during the Chorotega era. Archaeological treasures
abound, as you'll see at tiny
Museo Tendirí
( 8954-0570; parque central, 1c N; donations ac-
cepted; 8am-noon & 2-5pm Mon-Fri)
. Vast quantities of priceless ceramics, ancient sculp-
tures and colonial-era artifacts (3000 in all) have been crammed into this cheerfully dilap-
idated building.
If the lady who runs the museum is out, you could check out the 1529 Catholic
church
,
which has been left in adobe simplicity by subsequent renovations. It's home to Cristo del
Volcán, credited with stopping a lava flow from destroying the town during the 1772 erup-
tion that opened the Santiago crater.
