Nicaragua: cosa fare e vedere

Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America, with the great lakes Nicaragua and Managua beside a line of volcanoes. Managua, the capital, sits on the shore of Lake Managua, rebuilt after a 1972 earthquake, with the ruined old cathedral and a lookout on Tiscapa lagoon. Granada, on Lake Nicaragua, is a colonial city with a yellow cathedral, bright houses and boat trips among small islets.

León, the university city, has the largest cathedral in Central America, whose white roof can be walked, and many murals; the nearby Cerro Negro volcano is used for sliding down on boards. Masaya Volcano National Park has a crater that glows after dark. Ometepe, an island of two volcanoes in Lake Nicaragua, has petroglyphs, beaches and farm villages, and San Juan del Sur is a Pacific surf town with a hilltop statue of Christ.

Gallo pinto, rice and beans fried together, is breakfast, and nacatamal, a corn-dough parcel of pork steamed in banana leaf, is the weekend meal. Vigorón, with cabbage salad and crackling, is a Granada street dish. The rains turn the hills green from May to October, and skies are clearest between December and April.