Known as La Gran Sultana, it is located just 45 kilometers south of Managua. This colonial city was founded in 1524 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, naming it after his native Granada of Spain. It has its ancestral origins in the settlement of the indigenous community of Xalteva.
It is the oldest city in Nicaragua and one of the first cities established on the American mainland. Parked in front of the Great Lake of Nicaragua, in which the Isletas de Granada archipelago is located, with 365 islets of volcanic origin, daughters of Mombacho.
Granada, due to its geographical position, suffered several pirate incursions in the 1665th century that looted the city. These incursions occurred in 1670, 1685 and 1856. In XNUMX it was set on fire and almost completely destroyed by the hosts of the North American filibuster William Walker. After the National War, its reconstruction began, depriving it of a rich colonial and neoclassical architecture in its churches and other buildings and squares.
How to enjoy Granada?
Mombacho Volcano Natural Reserve
This is a magical place that will captivate you from your arrival and offers wonderful views for lovers of nature and photography. In this nature reserve you can do canopy and hiking, choosing between its three paths:
With Transportation
National
Overseas
Climb on foot
National
Overseas
- El Crate Trailr with a distance of 1.5 km and a duration of 1 ½ hours.
- The Tigrillo Trail with a distance of 2.5 km and a duration of 2 ½ hours.
- El Puma Trail with a distance of 4 km and a duration of 4 hours, from Monday to Sunday.
You can also enjoy the experience of the entire coffee growing and processing process. Here you can enjoy breakfasts and lunches with prices ranging from C$60 to C$130 córdobas and of course the coffee harvested and produced at the El Progreso farm.
The crater
The tigrillo
The Puma
Canopy or walk over the treetops, using high-angle equipment and techniques in the company of professional naturalist guides, includes coffee tasting.
Aguas Agrias Manares River Nature Reserve
Its crystal clear waters and the great variety of flora and fauna, is what most impresses the tourists who visit the Aguas Agrias Manares River Nature Reserve, an ideal place for nature lovers, who escape the madding crowd of the city.
Located south of the Mombacho volcano, in the Aguas Agrias community, a nandaimeThe reserve offers a full day to be in contact with nature. Visitors can bring their own food and have a picnic with the family.
The transparency of its waters surprises visitors, who have come to compare this place with the Ojo de Agua in Ometepe.
National
Overseas
Parking payment
Motorcycle
Wagon
Taxi
Bus
Microbus
Islets of Granada
There are 365 islets that adorn Lake Cocibolca, near the city of Granada. Of volcanic origin, they constitute a tropical paradise full of leafy trees and native fauna. Boat rides and stays on the islets are an unforgettable experience for visitors and a source of livelihood for local communities.
Another option to explore the lake is the boats located on the floating dock of the Granada Tourist Center or in Puerto Asese, where you can get to know the multiple islets and islets, stay at one of the restaurants located on the islets, either to eat or rest in a warm environment, visit the Island of the Monkeys, and meet its inhabitants who They are part of that wonderful creation of nature.
boat rental
30 min
40 min
1 Time
Per person on a group trip
30 min
1 Time
family cruises
The Family Cruise that departs from the EPN terminal on Sundays is an option to tour the lake and its islets, making a stop at Fort San Pablo.
EPN website Family Cruises
Adults
Kids
Colonial City Tours
There is more than one way to tour this colonial city, if you are adventurous and you like sports, you can do it by bicycle, or if you prefer something more traditional, you can do it by car, where you can enjoy this experience in a group.
Car Tour
Historic Center Tour
Complete from the lake
Bicycle City Tours
Tour
Bike rental
colonial infrastructures
The cemetery of Granada is one of the oldest in Central America, with its Chapel of Souls, which is a replica of the Parisian chapel.
Chapel of Souls: Located in the Granada Cemetery, between Las Camelias street and the road to Nandaime.
In 1878 the North American Teodoro E. Hooke began a campaign in order to provide the Granada Cemetery with a chapel. In 1885 the walls were raised, missing only the roof. It was built under the direction of the master builder, Carlos Ferrey. Its architecture is neoclassical in style, its main façade is framed by four columns on a raised atrium. The walls are built with carved quarry stone, with fine chisel carvings. The roof is defined by a vault and the altar is topped by a taquezal dome.
La Pólvora Fortress, dating from 1748, was a warehouse and gunpowder factory, a strategic point to defend the city from English and French pirates, among others. It was also used as a National Guard barracks.
San Francisco Convent and Museum
At San Francisco Convent Museums Cultural Center You will be able to learn all about the history of Granada, visit the Railway Station, the Choco Museum, take the chocolate tour and the Crafts Museum which is next to the Choco Museum.
Ticket Cost
foreign convent
National Convent
Convent Students
National Third Age
Choco Museum
Museum of chocolate What does it offer:
mini tours
work shop
Chocolate Spa
Day Pass
Churches
The Route of the Churches with its bell towers adapted as viewpoints: María Auxiliadora Chapel, Xalteva Church, La Merced Church, the Cathedral, San Francisco Church and Guadalupe Church, which was also a fortress to defend the city from attacks by pirates and freebooters. Los Campanarios, today viewpoints, where you can contemplate the city and its natural reserves.
Xalteva
The mercy
Catedral
Visit the central park
Visit Central Park, whose name is Parque Colón, tasting a delicious vigorón and its fresh grass, with that traditional touch of cabbage salad with tomato, accompanied by mimbro and banana vinegar, is almost a must if you go to Granada. Here you will find a variety of handicrafts, jewelry, creations in fabric, leather and wood.
Vigoron + Grama soft drink
Crafts
House of the boxes
*The prices may vary.
In the municipality of diriomo, you can taste the traditional cajetas de The House of the Boxes; take a tour by taxi or motorbike, depending on the route, either to the town's viewpoint and learn about the simplicity and humility of its inhabitants, its churches where one of the most recognized is the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Candelaria, Patron Saint of the Diriomeños.