Wild Nicaragua: Cloud Forests, Coffee Highlands & Lake Volcanoes

Today you immerse yourself in the misty cloud forests of the Matagalpa highlands. With your naturalist guide you walk forest trails in a reserve such as Selva Negra or the Cerro Apante cloud forest, a lush, dripping world of moss-hung trees, orchids, ferns and tumbling streams, breathing the cool, fragrant air. You spot brilliant birds, from hummingbirds and toucans to trogons and, with luck, the resplendent quetzal, hear howler monkeys in the canopy, and look for butterflies, tree frogs and orchids along the way, your guide revealing the forest's rich web of life. The mist, greenery and birdsong are enchanting. As the day ends, you return to your lodge amid the coffee slopes. This evening, savour a hearty highland dinner by the fire. Rest well in the cool green calm, for tomorrow you explore coffee country.

Today you explore the celebrated coffee highlands around Matagalpa and Jinotega. You visit a working coffee estate, walking among glossy coffee bushes beneath shade trees alive with birds, learning how the beans are picked, washed, dried and roasted, and tasting freshly brewed single-origin Nicaraguan coffee at its source, among the finest in Central America. You take in sweeping views over misty ridges and green coffee slopes, visit a mountain village or a small nature reserve, and perhaps walk to a waterfall hidden in the forest. The landscape, flavours and birdlife are captivating. As the day ends, you enjoy the cool highland air. This evening, savour a final highland dinner. Rest well, for tomorrow you descend to graceful Granada and the great lake, leaving the cool mountains for the tropical lowlands and their wildlife-rich islets.

Today you descend from the cool highlands to graceful Granada and a glowing volcano. You travel south out of the mountains, watching the misty coffee ridges give way to the tropical lowlands and the vast, shimmering expanse of Lake Nicaragua, to reach Granada, the jewel of colonial Central America. You settle into your characterful hotel and take a first stroll through the pastel streets. As dusk falls, you drive to Masaya Volcano National Park and stand at the rim of the smoking Santiago crater, where an incandescent lava lake glows and churns far below, one of only a handful on Earth, a spectacular reminder of the volcanic forces that shaped this green land. The contrast of cloud forest and glowing lava is captivating. This evening, savour Granada's relaxed atmosphere. Rest well, for tomorrow you cruise the wildlife-rich islets.

Today you explore the wildlife-rich islets of Lake Nicaragua and graceful Granada. In the morning you board a boat to glide among Las Isletas, a beautiful archipelago of 365 tiny tropical islands scattered off Granada, drifting past lush green islets with your naturalist guide and spotting herons, egrets, cormorants, kingfishers and ospreys, along with a colony of playful monkeys leaping through the trees, the great Mombacho volcano rising behind. In the afternoon you explore graceful Granada, walking its central plaza, climbing La Merced church tower for a rooftop panorama, and wandering the lively Calle La Calzada. The wildlife and colonial beauty are delightful. As the day ends, you return through the glowing streets. This evening, savour Granada's relaxed atmosphere. Rest well, for tomorrow you cross to wild Ometepe Island.

Today you cross to wild Ometepe, an hourglass island of twin volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua. You drive south to the port of San Jorge and cross by ferry as the twin volcanoes, the perfect cone of Concepcion and the cloud-wrapped Maderas, loom ever larger from the vast freshwater sea. Reaching the island, you settle into a nature lodge amid banana and coffee plantations, with the volcanoes towering above and birdsong all around. In the afternoon you might take a first gentle nature walk to spot monkeys and birds, or float in the Ojo de Agua, a crystal-clear natural pool fed by volcanic springs, beneath shady trees alive with birdlife. The wild beauty and abundant wildlife are captivating. This evening, dine beneath a canopy of brilliant stars at your lodge. Rest well on wild Ometepe.

Today you explore the jungles, channels and wildlife of Ometepe. You hike jungle trails on the forested lower slopes of the Maderas volcano, loud with howler monkeys and alive with butterflies, magpie-jays and, with luck, capuchin monkeys, your guide pointing out birds, tree frogs and orchids. You kayak the tranquil Istian channel between the two volcanoes, gliding silently past freshwater turtles basking on logs, caimans lurking in the shallows and a wealth of herons, egrets and kingfishers, wonderful for wildlife watching. You cool off in a crystal-clear volcanic spring and relax on a quiet lake beach. The jungle, wildlife and volcanic drama are exhilarating. As the day ends, you watch the sun set behind Concepcion. This evening, dine at your lodge. Rest well, reflecting on the wild beauty of Ometepe.

Today you leave wild Ometepe and journey back towards the capital. You take the ferry back across the lake, watching the twin volcanoes shrink behind you and perhaps spotting waterbirds along the shore, then travel north through a landscape of volcanoes and plantations to Managua, Nicaragua's lakeside capital. Along the way you might pause at a wetland or lagoon to look for birds, or take in the capital's lakeside setting and monuments. As the day ends, you settle into your Managua hotel, gathering your impressions of the wild, green and varied country you have crossed, from misty cloud forest to lake islets and volcano jungle. This evening, savour a final dinner, reflecting on the cloud forests, coffee highlands, lake wildlife and volcano jungles of Nicaragua. Rest well ahead of your departure tomorrow, carrying warm memories of wild Nicaragua.

After a final morning in Managua, perhaps a last lakeside stroll or some souvenir shopping, you are transferred to the airport for your onward international departure. You leave having experienced the wild, green soul of Nicaragua, the misty cloud forests and coffee highlands of Matagalpa, the wildlife-rich islets of Lake Nicaragua, the glowing lava lake of Masaya, and the howler-monkey jungles, turtle-filled channels and volcanic springs of Ometepe Island. The images stay vivid long after you land, the quetzals and hummingbirds of the cloud forest, the shade-grown coffee slopes, the herons and monkeys of the islets, and the jungle-clad twin volcanoes of Ometepe. Nicaragua offers wildlife, wild landscapes, natural wonder and genuine warmth in abundance, still gloriously uncrowded, and you depart already dreaming of a return to this beautiful, biodiverse and welcoming land.