Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
La Dalia & Peñas Blancas
Heading east from Matagalpa, no sooner than you have left the city, you will begin driv-
ing through gorgeous green hills typical of the hinterland of the department.
Take a break at the
Puente Las Cañas
(Km147) - about 25 minutes out of Matagalpa,
where a community-based tourism project has constructed 2km of walking trails through
coffee, banana and cacao plantations and over a rickety old suspension bridge. The high-
light is
Salto Santa Emilia
, a 15m waterfall and cave a short walk from the highway. Don't
swim here during the coffee harvest when the water is often polluted.
Continuing on the highway, you'll arrive at the town of La Dalia, a busy agricultural
center surrounded mostly by cleared farmland but with some tracts of cloud forest to the
northwest. If you keep heading north, eventually you'll spot the breathtaking sheer white
cliffs draped in forest of the
Reserva Natural Macizos de Peñas Blancas
, one of the six nuc-
lear areas of the Reserva Natural Bosawás and possibly the most enchanting nature re-
serve in Northern Nicaragua. Here you'll find the mossy, misty, life-altering primary
cloud forest scenery you've been waiting for. In addition to the massive cathedral trees
draped in orchids and bromeliads, you'll find as many as 48 waterfalls, some of which
pour into crystalline swimming holes; at least one of them is over 120m tall. And we
haven't even got to the wildlife - the 116 sq km reserve is home to an incredible array of
fauna, including pumas, jaguars, large troops of monkeys and many rare bird species. The
reserve has only rustic accommodations, but don't even consider not spending the night -
unless you want to miss out on gazing in awe at those cliffs in the late evening and early
morning light.
Activities
Centro Entiendemiento con la Naturaleza
(CEN; 8852-6214, 8852-6213;
http://www.cenaturaleza.org
;
Empalme la Manzana, 800m E, Peñas
Blancas)
If you really want to delve deep into the reserve, pay a visit to this grassroots
environmental education and conservation project. In addition to reforesting and man-
aging vast swathes of the reserve, the center also serves as a scientific research post. It or-
ganizes guides for the trek to the magnificent Arco Iris waterfall (US$13 including lunch)
and wildlife zones high in the mountains.
ECOTOUR
