Category: Nicaragua

Free Leon City Tour

León is an interesting city to walk around, but it’s always better to have a guide! I happened to find a new company that offers free walking tours every morning so I signed up. Here’s my experience on the free Leon City tour.

About the Tour

The tour lasted 90 minutes and covered the centre of the city. I learned more about the history of the city and the country and saw some of the murals depicting these stories. On the tour with me were a Canadian couple and 3 Germans, which is not surprising! Germans and Canadians are the most common tourists in Nicaragua right now.

City of Churches

I already mentioned the enormous amount of churches here, and the guide, Sebastian, pointed out León is known as a city of churches. This is because there are 2 Catholic churches per neighbourhood here. I don’t know why that’s necessary but the churches are pretty to look at and have some crazy icons inside.

He also informed us that the main cathedral, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, has tunnels to 5 different churches in the city. These were created to fend off pirates!

Cathedral de Leon a stop on our free Leon City Tour
Crypt entrance in the Cathedral of León
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Volcano Boarding at Cerro Negro

Volcano Boarding is one of the top things to do when visiting León, so I signed up to do it almost immediately upon arrival. Why delay? Am I glad I did it because volcano boarding at Cerro Negro is a highlight of this trip and will always be a great memory for me.

Volcano Tour

My hostal offers a daily tour of the volcano through Nicatime Nicaragua. We left at 8am on Wednesday, got to Cerro Negro Volcano by 9am, and started hiking. The uphill climb is only an hour long, but with all the sand and rocks, it’s not easy. Slippery best describes the hike.

Cerro Negro
Our group climbing up Cerro Negro

Cerro Negro means Black Mountain, and that is what it is. This fairly young, still active volcano is a pile of black sand and rock. People have been volcano boarding there for about 17 years, according to my tour guide, Oscar (just kidding, it was Lester – or Luther, damn I am bad at this. I’ll call him Oscar). Now this extreme sport is the primary reason people visit Cerro Negro, and it’s one of the top attractions in León.

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A Day and a Half in León Nicaragua

After a day and a half in León, I like it. It’s a pretty town with some beautiful churches. A lot of pretty churches. So many, that I can’t keep track of which ones I’ve visited. There’s also a lot of museums, street art, and history here. This morning I am going on a walking tour of the city, so I should learn more about all of those things! In the meantime, I have been taking photos and soaking up the vibes of León.

León Churches

I visited some of the churches, including the fairy tale pretty Iglesia el Calvario and the more traditional Iglesia El Merced.

Iglesia El Calvario
The pretty Iglesia El Calvario

Finally, yesterday afternoon I explored the rooftop of the Cathedral of León. Barefoot. That’s right, once you step out onto the roof, you have to take off your shoes so as not to damage or taint the surface. It is very white! It was a very cool feeling exploring the roof of a cathedral barefoot. I don’t know if I’ll do it again, and for $1.25, it was fun! As there are no tall buildings here, the view from the cathedral roof was lovely, so I took lots of photos.

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