Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Managua
(
expreso
US$3, 2½ hours, 4:45am to 3:15pm, hourly;
ordinario
US$2.25, 3½
hours, 3:30am to 6pm, half-hourly) First two express buses don't run on Sunday.
Matagalpa
(
ordinario
US$1.25, 1¾ hours, 5:15am to 5:40pm, half-hourly)
TOP OF CHAPTER
Área Protegida Miraflor
Miraflor is not your average tourist destination. Part nature reserve, part rural farming
community, its challenging to get to and even more difficult to define. There are no big
hotels or restaurants here, just a loose collection of like-minded farmers with an interest in
tourism and the environment.
Its namesake is a small mountain lake around which the Área Protegida Miraflor (de-
clared a reserve in 1999) unfurls with waterfalls, blooming orchids, coffee plantations,
swatches of remnant cloud forest home to hold-out monkey troops, hiking trails and
dozens of collective-farming communities that welcome tourists. Yes, nature is glorious
here, but the chance to participate in rural Nicaraguan life - making fresh tortillas, milk-
ing cows, harvesting coffee, riding horses through the hills with living, breathing
caballeros
(horsemen) - is unforgettable.
Miraflor played an integral role in Nicaragua's revolutionary struggle. When the Con-
tras snuck over the Honduran border with a plan to march into Managua and seize politic-
al power, a large contingent came through these mountains, planning to sack nearby
Estelí. But the farmers here rose up in resistance and helped turn the Contra War toward
the Sandinistas. Afterward, Ortega nationalized this farmland and gave it back to the
people who organized themselves into
colectivos
. This population may look and act
humble, but it has war stories and ambitious, utopian dreams of economic equality burned
into its collective brain.
These days most of the cooperatives have been dissolved and the lands distributed
among their former members. And while many locals now own their lands, poverty re-
mains widespread and sustainable tourism is just one of the ways local residents eke out a
living. Advanced reservations are essential to ensure visitor income is distributed evenly
among participating farmers and your hosts are prepared for your arrival.
UCA Miraflor (
Click here
)
in Estelí manages the reserve and can help you plan a visit,
hook you up with an English-speaking guide and book family homestays. Alternatively,
