Destinations >> Boaco

This department, located in the central region, is 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Managua and south of the Rio Grande of Matagalpa. Like Chontales, it is know as a cattle ranching department and has many mountains, valleys and hills. The capital city, located 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Managua and also called Boaco, is known as the “Two Story City” because it is set on very uneven terrain.

It was founded on its current site in 1763, just a few years after the first site was attacked and decimated by the English and Miskitos who frequently seized the Spanish towns located along the old colonial border and held them hostage.

The city is set on two adjacent high plains in the midst of the cattle ranching area. It honors the Apostle James every July 25, and celebrates a “Dairy Fair” at the beginning of that same month. The delicious white cheeses produced in the region are the main source of income for the area, which also produces rice, coffee, henequen fiber and other basic crops.

Camoapa is famous for its hand-woven Jipi Japa (straw or pita) hats, and also for weavings from the fiber of the pita plant, which is plentiful in the area. This art is practiced in other towns of the region as well, including: Teustepe, Santa Lucia, San Jose de los Remates, San Lorenzo and Tecolostote.

Tourist Attractions

Mount Masigue

Amidst the mountains and surrounded by numerous cattle ranches, is Mount Masigue at 1,108 meters (3,635 feet) above sea level. The name Masiwi, “Sun Boar” is from the Ulwa language of the Boa group of Sumu that once inhabited the eastern part of Boaco.

Hills of Santa Lucia

This series of hills forms the rim of an ancient volcanic crater. The hills are the remains of primitive and extinct volcanic activity in the Tertiary Era. New volcanoes have replaced these and the Pacific region continues to experience volcanic activity.

Peñon de Santo Domingo

The Rock of Santo Domingo is a bastion of basalt in the shape of a giant thumb. It rises 980 meters (3,215 feet) above sea level.

The Rocky Bastions of Santa Lucia

Crowned by sturdy basaltic rocks, the hills of Santo Domingo and La Cocinera rise to form part of an ancient crater from the Tertiary Era. The town of Santa Lucia is set in the midst of the crater, to the north of Boaco.

Cerro Alegre

This mountain is located north of Boaco, and 1,200 meters (3,937 feet) above sea level, near San Jose de Los Remates. The summit is covered by a cloud forest which has been declared a natural reserve. Many streams flow down from Cerro Alegre, including the Malacatoya River.

Los Talnites Canyon

Los Talnites Canyon is found between Santa Lucia and San Jose de los Remates. The Malacatoya River winds through the bottom of the canyon, carving a path between steep and high mesas heading toward the Teustepe Valley.

Santa Lucia

North of Boaco, at the bottom of an ancient volcanic crater, we find the picturesque town of Santa Lucia, an agricultural community known for its cultivation of henequen.

Petroglyphs of Teustepe

The figure of an animal is sculpted on this enormous rock found next to the road from Teustepe to Santa Lucia. This figure is considered the oldest example of stone art attributed to the country’s first inhabitants.

Parish Church of Boaco

This church was built around the time of independence and is consecrated to Santiago Apostol (St. James the Apostle), the city’s patron saint. Following a fire that partially destroyed the church in 1922, it was rebuilt through the tenacious efforts of the Polish priest, Jose Nieborowski.

The Church of Teustepe

Teustepe is located at kilometer 68 of the Highway to Rama, and its Nahuatl name means “Rabbit Mountain”. St. Rita is the city’s patroness. The church is the resting place for the remains of the exiled priest, Fr. Agustin Vijil, who, in 1856, was the ambassador in Washington for the mercenary, William Walker, who the priest had called the “protecting angel of Nicaragua".

The Church of Camoapa

This church was rebuilt without towers in the style of the old church which had been located in the same place. It is dedicated to St. Frances of Assisi, the patron saint of the city.

The Headwaters of the Malacatoya River

The Malacatoya River originates on Cerro Alegre, near San Jose de los Remates. It cuts a path between mesas and canyons until reaching the Teustepe Valley, where it has been dammed to form Las Canoas Lake.

Monument to the “Bailante”

This statue, erected on a corner in the city of Boaco, symbolizes the Bailante (dancer), one of the twenty devout followers who have made promises to St. James the Apostle. During the traditional patron saint festivities, they perform dances commemorating the struggle between the Moors and the Christians.