The Ometepe Island

Managua | Granada | Masaya and Market of Masaya | Pueblos Blancos (White Towns)
Mombacho Volcano | San Juan del Sur | León | Montelimar | Matagalpa and Jinotega
Esteli | Ocotal | The River San Juan | Corn Islands | The Solentiname Archipelago | Ometepe

Beautiful and unique in the world is the Ometepe Island and its two volcanoes, on the extremes of the island, located in Lake of Nicaragua, also known as Lake of Cocibolca. Both the active Concepcion Volcano with its conical shape and the inactive Madera Volcano with its rainforest and beautiful nature, deserve admiration. Ometepe hosts many fresh water beaches of which Santo Domingo Beach, a long stretch of dark beige sand that connects the two volcanic extremes, is considered the most beautiful.

The forest reserves have a rich orchid, bird and butterfly life and the island is home to unique legends, like the one about the underwater city in the Charco Verde pond. The island is also of great historical interest due to its many pre-Colombian remains, such as basalt statues and more than 600 petroglyph sites.

The lifestyle of the island is rural and rustic; oxcarts are nothing unusual as well as people riding on cows instead of horses. The inhabitants are also proud of the fact that Ometepe hasn't been involved in any of the 20 th century's conflicts and has therefore given the island the nickname "The Oasis of Peace".

Many places in Nicaragua keep their names in the indigenous language Nahualt. One example of this is Ometepe. "Ome"means two and "Tepelt" means mountain, put together you get the word "Ometepe" which means place of mountain.