Hinking and Nature
Nature Reserve Cerro Apante
Apante Night Tour
Hike crossing the Natural Reserve “Cerro Apante”
Selva Negra: The Hammonia Farm – El Arenal Natural Reserve
Bird Watching
Full-day combi: Chocolate tour, Wabule falls, Finca Esperanza Verde
“El Paraíso” Farm and “Santa Emilia” Waterfall
Petroglyphs Chagüitillo
Gold Mines - The ancient gold mines are enclos
5 days hikings
Nature Reserve Cerro Apante
Matagalpa Viewpoint
Short Walk to the “Cerro Apante” Natural Reserve (3 hours)
The tour through the reserve, takes you through a secondary rain forest with varied and colored vegetation, to 1442 meters. On the walk, we will stop for a moment to observe “La cascada de Apante” (The Apante Waterfall) that supplies water to part of the matagalpan population; we continue walking appreciating the mix of trees, bushes, bromeliads and orchids and, with luck, we can observe different species of birds and mammals. The effort of climbing through the inclined trails, is rewarded by the magnificent and wide view that gives us the Apante lookout point, from where all the city of Matagalpa is appreciated and the mountains that surround it, an ideal place to take pictures.
Duration: 4 hours
Departures: 8:30 am and 2:00 pm
Includes:
Private Transportation
Bilingual guide
Entrance fees
Snack
The sunset is a magical moment in the forest, the mammals search for their burrow, or choose a place to pass the night, the birds return to their nest, the night begins to fall and the “Cerro Apante” natural reserve presents us a very different face; the night life began.
We will begin this tour at 5 o'clock in the afternoon in order to enjoy the magic of the sunset, just when the frogs begin to sing in chorus, accompanied by the music of thousands of insects and nocturnal birds. In a 1 ½ hour tour, we will enjoy the hidden face of the forest, trying to find sleeping birds, nocturnal mammals and hundreds of insects that give us a demonstration of camouflage and test our senses Top
Hike crossing the Natural Reserve “Cerro Apante” (7 hours)
Besides being the highest mountain around the city, Cerro Apante Nature Reserve is home of a wide variety of flora and fauna, including endemic species such as Taltuaza matagalpina (Orthogeomys matagalpae) and
represents a major source of water for surrounding communities.
This walk is designed to enjoy different environments, we will walk through the humid forest, cloud forest, coffee plantations, waterfalls, productive areas and communities, we will share a picnic style lunch and enjoy the best views from different view points. The walk ends in the town of San Ramón from where you return by vehicle.
Duration: 7-8 hours.
Departure: 8:30 am
Includes:
Private Transportation
Bilingual Guide
Entrance fees
Picnic lunch
Note: Learn about the world of insects and the nocturnal life at this reserve on our Apante Night tour! Top
Selva Negra: The Hammonia Farm – El Arenal Natural Reserve (5 hours)
Selva Negra is a renowned mountain hotel located at the heart of the natural reserve “El Arenal” hill. On this tour, you will know aside from the lovely and rural facilities of the Selva Negra mountain hotel, the different productive activities to which they are dedicated. You will learn about organic agriculture, coffee production touring the plantations through the hammonia farm, a self sustaining farm now that all of the food, vegetables and meats are produced by themselves. Later, we will take you through the forest, where the exotic flora and fauna, the oldest oak of Central America, the opportunity to listen to the sining of more than 200 birds and the shouts of the Congo monkeys, sometimes visible, will make this tour an experience that you will never forget. We will end with a rich lunch in one of the best lookout points of the northern part of the country “el Disparate de Potter” Top
Bird Watching Looking for exotic birds
Because of its geographical location, Nicaragua is considered an ecological bridge between north and south, therefore it has an amazing biodiversity of resident and migratory species. In addition to owning almost 20% of the territory as protected areas and provide a rich variety of habitats and extensive natural areas, Nicaragua represents an interesting option for those who love bird watching.
We will walk through the Nature Reserve Cerro El Arenal, an ideal place to observe cloud forest birds. El Arenal is home of over 200 species of birds including the mythical Resplendent Quetzal and other trogons, the Three Wattled Bell bird and toucans as well as understory birds.
With a little patience, in the right place you can enjoy the incredible diversity of tropical forest.
Duration: 5 hours
Departure: It depends on the weather condition
Includes:
Private Transportation
Bilingual Guide
Entrance Fees
Snack
Note: The duration and location where the tour takes place may change according to the tourists preferences. Top
Full-day combi: Chocolate tour, Wabule falls, Finca Esperanza Verde (Also available with overnight stay at FEV ecolodge)
Matagalpa is a region rich in landscapes, waterfalls, forests and ecological farms, which has transformed in into a major destination for those seeking an unforgettable experience off the beaten path.
On this tour we will visit El Castillo del Cacao, the factory where some of the best Nicaraguan chocolate is produced. During this tour you will learn all the interesting facts about cacao through history. After that we drive toward the east of Matagalpa where some tropical dry forests are found with a wide variety of birds. We hike down to the waterfalls of Wabule to enjoy the fresh water and share a picnic lunch. In the afternoon we visit the awarded coffee farm and ecolodge “Finca Esperanza Verde” to hike and learn about the importance of sustainable coffee growth.
Duration: 8-9 hours. Departure: 8 am
Includes:
Bilingual Guide
Entrance fees
Transportation (from your hotel in Matagalpa)
Picnic lunch
Note: In dry season (march-may) visits to Wabule are less recommended Top
“El Paraíso” Farm and “Santa Emilia” Waterfall (5 hours)
This tour is a perfect mix of information, nature and adventure. We begin making a tour through the coffee plantations and the humid benefit on the “El Paraíso” farm, a farm founded in 1890, with a great variety of flora and fauna, fruit trees and virgin mountains that become an irresistible desire to walk through the paths, where the orchids, bromeliads, ferns and birds, do honor to the name of this farm. We continue walking until the lookout point of “El Paraíso” at 1400 MSNM. Later, we will give ourselves a refreshing bath in the waters that descend from the mountain and enjoy a rich lunch countryside style at the old farmhouse. Top
Petroglyphs Chagüitillo (5 hours)
Chagüitillo is a community located a few kilometers from Matagalpa and it is home of some of the most impressive pre-Columbian petroglyphs in the country, here an important project of cultural recovery and protection of one of the major archaeological sites in the area is developed.
First we will visit the Museum of Chagüitillo, where you can enjoy a small but interesting collection of instruments and prehistoric pottery that were found in this community. Here we will also talk about history, colonization, culture and customs of the Matagalpa indigenous ancestors, then we will be part of a two hour hike through two archaeological sites where we can be delighted by more than one hundred petroglyphs etched in stone and make reference to religion and beliefs of our aborigines.
Duration: 4 -5 hours. Departure: 8:30 am and 1:00 pm
Includes:
Bilingual Guide
Transport (From and to your hotel in Matagalpa)
Snack
Entrance fees Top
The ancient gold mines are enclosed in their dark tunnels, histories of miners that worked more than 30 years ago extracting gold and silver. The feat that produces walking below the earth, in a dark cavern, is reduced when you begin to discover the centennial formations of stalactite rocks, formations of lime, eyes of water and bats fluttering through the place. Finally, we will do a tour through the “Mina La Reyna” community, where you will be able to know a little bit about the rural population and their customs. If you are an adventurer and you don't mind getting wet, then this tour is designed for you. Top
Example of hiking 5 day package:
(This package can last from 4 days up to 10 days, according to your interest and available time)
We invite you to tour the best scenic sites of northern Nicaragua, in a walk full of adventure, culture and nature.
Day 1:
We will leave the city of Matagalpa, Traversing, in a 7 hour walk, the nature reserve of “Cerro Apante”, until we arrive to the town of “San Ramón”, and later we will transfer to the “La Pita” community, where we will lodge.
Day 2:
We will walk from “La Pita”, to the “La Corona” and “El Roblar” communities, where we will learn about the coffee production and management, and if it is the harvest season, you can participate in the cutting and profit in the process. We will lodge in basic conditions, with community families, trained to receive visitors.
Day 3:
We will walk for 5 hours, passing through places with beautiful views of the northern mountains, until the town of “El Tuma”, from where we will transfer in vehicle up to the massif of “Peñas Blancas”, southern boundary of the Bosawas biosphere reserve, where we will visit the impressive cascade and we will lodge at the “Guardianes del bosque” cooperative.
We will conquer the high part of the “Peñas Blancas” massif, a 6 hour walk, in a clouded jungle with inclined trails that stay very humid almost all year long.
Day 4:
We will travel up to the “Santa Emilia”community to get to know and to give ourselves a dip in the “saldo escondido”, later we will continue towards “El Paraiso”, a diversified farm rich in natural resources, where we will learn about the production of different items, such as: cattle, milk and coffee. At night we will lodge at the old farmhouse.
Day 5:
The last walk will be, through the natural reserve “Cerro El Arenal”, a 5 hour tour through the cloudy jungle, rich in flora and fauna, here we will have the possibility to do some birdwatching unique to the area, and migratories, giant trees and an incredible variety of orchids and ferns.
Do you like to walk and get to know the countryside life? We are offering you an unforgettable experience. Top
