Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
San Carlos, Islas Solentiname & the Río San Juan Highlights
Spot migratory birds on a tour through the wetlands and humid forests of
San Miguelito (
Click
here
)
Hike, swim and stargaze in the peaceful
Islas Solentiname (
Click here
)
Dine on sweet and giant shrimp on a riverside balcony in
Boca de Sábalos (
Click here
)
Scale the imposing Spanish fortress in
El Castillo (
Click here
)
Trek through the spectacular
Reserva Biológica Indio-Maíz
(
Click here
) beneath 500-year-old
orchid-jeweled giants
Explore hidden, jungled lagoons by boat in
San Juan de Nicaragua (
Click here
)
Troll for tarpon in the mighty
Río San Juan (
Click here
)
Spot alligators in the
Refugio de Vida Silvestre Los Guatuzos
(
Click here
) wetlands
History
Almost as soon as Columbus happened upon Nicaragua in 1502, the search was on for a
passage that would link the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. In 1529 the Spanish finally nav-
igated the rapids and reached the mouth of the river at the Caribbean Sea, where they estab-
lished San Juan de las Perlas in 1539.
In the 17th and 18th centuries Granada was growing wealthier by the year, which attrac-
ted unwanted attention from English, French and Dutch pirates, who sacked the city three
times in five years. A series of forts, including one in San Carlos and another in El Castillo,
were built along the river and lake to ward them off.
When the gold fever took hold in North America in the 1800s, the Río San Juan became
part of the fastest route between New York and San Francisco. American Cornelius Vander-
bilt's ships sailed from New York to New Orleans and then steamed down to Greytown be-
fore continuing upriver to Lago de Nicaragua, where voyagers traveled overland to an
awaiting steamship on the Pacific.
After the Panama Canal was built in 1914, dashing hopes for a local version, Greytown
(by then reincorporated into Nicaragua as San Juan del Norte) reverted to a sleepy outpost
at the end of a rarely transited jungle river.
