Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Located 32km from San Ramón, this community has great hiking and horseback-rid-
ing opportunities, including a trek up into the mountains to three spectacular
miradores
.
It is also home to Cooperativa El Privilegio, a women's farming cooperative that grows
and roasts its own brand of coffee. There are six buses a day from Cotran Norte in
Matagalpa to El Roblar.
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Selva Negra
If you're looking for comfort with your virgin cloud forest experience, then
Selva Negra
(
2772-3883;
www.selvanegra.com
; admission US$2.50)
, part family resort, part coffee farm
and part rainforest preserve, could be for you. The 850-hectare estate, founded in the
1880s by German immigrants, is named after Germany's Black Forest. The founders were
part of the original German coffee invasion that created the industry. Their descendants
still manage the reserve, which is webbed with several kilometers of lush jungle trails.
The forest blooms with bromeliads and rare orchids year-round and is home to nesting
quetzals in April and May.
Visitors can do
wildlife tours
(per hr US$10 ; 7am)
,
coffee tours
(regular/during harvest
US$20/30)
,
sustainable agriculture tours
(per person US$14; 10am & 1pm)
and
horseback rid-
ing
(per hr US$10)
. Or simply hike the 20km of trails at your leisure or relax at the restaur-
ant, which overlooks a swan lake backed by cloud forest. Given the setting and abundance
of activities, it's no surprise that North American families and package tourists flock here.
If you want to stay, there's a variety of
accommodation
(budget r US$15 per person, superior
r/cabañas US$45/85)
options. The cute brick
cabañas
with fireplaces, and roofs sprouting
bromeliads, are sprinkled in a magical fern gulley while the superior rooms have lovely
lake views.
Take the Matagalpa-Jinotega bus and get off 12km north of town at the signed turnoff
marked by an old tank from the revolution. From there it's a pleasant 1.5km walk to the
lodge.
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