Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
León & Northwestern Nicaragua Highlights
Climb one of the spectacular volcanic peaks of the
Maribios chain
(
Click here
) and sandboard
back down again
Get away from it all in a beachside cabin at
Playa Jiquilillo
(
Click here
) or
Mechapa
(
Click
Take in some street art in mural-infested
León
(
Click here
)
Kayak through Central America's largest mangrove forest in
Reserva Natural Estero Padre
Ramos
(
Click here
)
Soak those aching bones in Potosí hot springs after climbing
Volcán Cosigüina
(
Click here
)
Give back with a day or year of
volunteering
(
Click here
) in the many nonprofits based in
León
History
The Maribios people were the first inhabitants of what is now León, in the township/suburb
of Subtiava. After a series of volcanic eruptions led to the evacuation of the original city of
León (now called León Viejo), this site was chosen. It turned out to be a good choice -
Subtiava provided plenty of indigenous labor, it was far enough from the ocean to prevent
the pirate attacks that had plagued Granada, and the volcanoes were distant and dormant
enough not to threaten the city.
León has produced various heroes, most famously poet Rubén Darío, but also independ-
ence fighter Miguel Larreynaga (look for him on the 10-córdoba note) and Luisa Amanda
Espinoza, the first female Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (Sandinista National
Liberation Front; FSLN) member to die in combat. A Sandinista stronghold, the city saw
some of the toughest battles during the revolution, documented in the city's murals, mu-
seums and bullet-pocked walls.
Despite León's status as a religious and academic center (and the fact that it had been the
nation's capital for 242 years), it was Chinandega, to the north, that was chosen as the
meeting place for the ill-fated Confederation of American States in the 19th century. Chin-
andega's claim to fame as the 'city of oranges' waned in the 20th century, as cotton became
the principal crop. This in turn changed as world cotton prices plummeted and farmers
turned to sugarcane and peanuts, the region's main crops to this day.
El Corinto - these days Nicaragua's busiest commercial port - has entered the history
books in a big way twice: first when it was the landing site for William Dampier and a
