Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WORTH A TRIP
LEÓN VIEJO
Buried and lost for over 300 years, this was Nicaragua's first
capital
(entrance US$5; 8am-5pm)
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a rough-and-ready settlement that some say was doomed from the start. Founded in 1824, the
town was governed by a series of unusually cruel and money-hungry tyrants, whose public spec-
tacles included beheadings and setting wild dogs on captured natives in the central plaza.
All of which gives some weight to the theory that divine intervention played at least a part in
the series of earthquakes that shook the town from 1580 to 1609, culminating in the eruption of
nearby Volcán Momotombo that buried the city under ash in 1610.
The Spanish fled, carrying whatever they could with them (including La Virgen de La
Merced), and settled in present-day León, and the old city began to fade from memory.
Fast forward to 1967. After years of searching and theorizing, archaeologists from León's
UNAN university finally locate the old town, unearthing its chapel and central plaza (and the
headless remains of Francisco Fernández de Córdoba, founder of both León and Granada, be-
neath it).
In 2000 it was declared a Unesco World Heritage site - Nicaragua's first - and (funds allow-
ing) excavations have continued. This is not Machu Picchu - most walls are about 1m high and
you need a fair bit of imagination to see that there was once a city here - but it makes for an in-
teresting day trip, more than anything for the evocative commentary provided by local guides.
Admission includes a Spanish-language guided tour, but detailed signs are also in English. The
best time to visit is the second Sunday in November, when La Virgen de La Merced leaves her
comfortable new church and, leading a procession of the faithful from La Paz Centro, revisits her
first home in the New World.
Almost every tour outfit in León (as well as several in Managua and Granada) arranges visits
to León Viejo (US$45 from León), which can be combined with a hike to the top of Cerro Negro
and/or a cool swim in Laguna de Asososca, both nearby. But it's easy to visit on your own. Buses
run every 50 minutes between León and La Paz Centro (US$0.80, 45 minutes), meeting buses to
Puerto Momotombo (US$0.50), less than 1km from the site. Driving, the turnoff is 3km east of
La Paz Centro on the new León-Managua highway. From there it's a 15km drive along a cobble-
stone road; make the poorly signed right to the ruins when you get into town.
If you continue straight through Puerto Momotombo, however, you'll quickly come to a less-
than-appealing beach scene on Lago de Managua, where a handful of disposable-looking restaur-
ants and a playground enjoy a truly awesome view of Volcán Momotombo, the hydroelectric
plant steaming eerily against its naked red and black slopes, and Isla Momotombito; you could
rent a boat for US$30 per hour and paddle around.
Barrio Subtiava
A regional capital long before León moved in, the
barrio
(district) of Subtiava takes its
name from a local tribe who still count themselves apart from León, and Nicaragua, as a
whole. After refugees from León Viejo arrived in 1610, the two separate towns coexisted
