Destinations >> Matagalpa

The department of Matagalpa is located 65 kilometers (40 miles) from the capital. There is a great deal of variation in the topography of the department, which is set on the high plains of central Nicaragua next to Jinotega.

According to some historians, the name “Matagalpa” is from the Nahuatl and means "Entangled Town”.

The departmental capital of Matagalpa is located 130 kilometers (80 miles) from Managua. The streets and houses of the city of Matagalpa are arranged in a rolling ascent and descent, following the undulating terrain of the city which is nestled among various hills.

It is one of the most productive departments of the country and its valleys generate a great diversity of crops: rice, corn, flowers, and a variety of vegetables. In addition, the major coffee farmers and cattle ranchers are found here.

It is located more than 914 meters (3,000 feet) above sea level, thus enjoying a cooler climate than the rest of the country, with rivers and small lakes that are excellent for catching small fish.

There is a great abundance of protected areas such as Mount Musun, providing habitats for thousands of species, including a wealth and variety of birds and other species. Ferns and orchids abound in its lush wet tropical forests.

Among the architectural beauties of Matagalpa is the baroque church of San Jose de Laborio, which is across from the Ruben Dario Park, and San Pedro Cathedral which, architecturally, is the most magnificent building of the city. Inside you may appreciate the fine silverwork and woodwork, as well as bas-relief and mid-relief sculptures.

In September, Matagalpa makes the most of its cool climate by celebrating the Feria del Güipil, Polka y Mazurca (traditional costume and dance fair) and the Feria del Café (coffee fair).

The mountain hotels, near the city of Matagalpa, offer a pleasant setting and very good food. One example is the Hotel Selva Negra, an old coffee hacienda at kilometer 139 of the Matagalpa-Jinotega Highway.

Other interesting sights include the Las Playitas Lakes, the birthplace of the celebrated poet, Ruben Dario and the Sebaco Valley.

Towns in the department of Matagalpa include: Sebaco, Ciudad Dario, San Isidro, San Ramon, Esquipulas, Muy Muy, Matiguas and Rio Blanco.

Tourist Attractions

Historical: Ruben Dario’s Birthplace, El Disparate de Potter (Potter’s Folly) on the way out of Matagalpa heading toward Jinotega, the Foreigners’ Cemetery.

Scenic: Mountains between Matagalpa and Jinotega, Selva Negra, the Sebaco Valley, the Yasica and Upa Falls, Mount Musun and Mount Arenal and Las Yeguas Well.

Ecological: Vegetation on the Sebaco Plain, cloud forest on the high mountains of El Picacho, Apante, Wabule, Musun, Kuskawas, the stands of pines on Guisisil and on Yucul and Wabule, the Santa Maria de Ostuma Natural Reserve.

Legendary Musun
Mount Musun, to the east, is considered a “sacred mountain” by the Sumu indigenous that inhabited the surrounding area in the past. It has been declared a Natural Reserve in order to halt the advance of deforestation by those that settle on its slopes. Seventeen rivers originate on Musun, which reaches an altitude of 1,438 meters (4,718 feet), and there is still a cool cloud forest at the peak.

San Pedro Cathedral
This beautiful parish church was inaugurated in 1895 with the name San Pedro; it had taken twenty years to build. The church – begun by Jesuits and completed by the residents themselves – was elevated to cathedral status in 1924, when the diocese was created, with Bishop Isidoro Carrillo y Salazar as its first prelate.

Rio Blanco de Matagalpa
Rio Blanco is a prosperous town on a mountain pass in the department of Matagalpa. The population has grown at the foot of the imposing massif of Mount Musun, the source of the town’s water supply. Its future development is guaranteed once the paved highway that connects Managua with Puerto Cabezas is completed. Rio Blanco is at the halfway point in the road.

Rio Grande of Matagalpa
The Rio Grande of Matagalpa flows peacefully along its course. The Rio Grande is, after the Coco River, the second longest river in all of Nicaragua. It flows 430 kilometers (267 miles) from its source, in Selva Negra, Matagalpa until it drains into the Caribbean Sea. Its original name is Kiwaska, a Sumu word which means "River with a Rocky Bed", and the Miskitos that live near its mouth call it Walpatara, or “River of Large Rocks".

The Dry River Bed of the Rio Grande de Paiwas
With the rains of Hurricane Mitch in 1998, the swollen waters of the Rio Grande de Matagalpa dredged up and left the rocky riverbed exposed in its passage through Bocana de Paiwas. The rocks, which form numerous and continuous rapids beneath this site, explain why the old Sumu residents called the river the Kiwaska or "River with a Rocky Bed".

The Yasica Falls
The Yasica River, a tributary of the Tuma, forms an interesting falls at Santa Emilia, some 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the city of Matagalpa, next to the El Tuma-La Dalia Road. At the foot of the waterfall, a beautiful well has formed with refreshing waters that delight local bathers.

Las Playitas
Three small lakes: Las Playitas, Moyua and Tecomapa are trapped between the hills near Ciudad Dario. They are the remnant of a lake that, in times past, occupied the end of the Sebaco Valley. The lakes are visited by a number of aquatic birds including some migratory species that arrive at the beginning of the dry season. They fish in the lakes for tiger guapote, mojarra and tilapia. Las Playitas, which had been visibly of drying up, was filled again by the intense rains of Hurricane Mitch in 1998.