| 1. Volcan San Cristobal - 1745 meters | | | | in thick cloud forest teeming with howler and |
| This is the tallest volcano in Nicaragua and that is | | | | white-faced monkeys. Near the crater's lip you will |
| only one reason it has earned the number one | | | | find a unique dwarf forest reminiscent of a |
| spot. San Cristobal is still active and a smoke | | | | Tolkien created world. It is possible to climb down |
| plume can be seen puffing from the top most | | | | into the crater to reach the crater lake in the |
| days. How many people can say the climbed an | | | | center for a swim. This volcano is covered in mist |
| active volcano? The climb is arduous, and after | | | | and clouds most of the time and you will be lucky |
| you get above the tree line it feels like your | | | | to catch a glimpse of the spectacular views. |
| climbing a post-nuclear moonscape. For every two | | | | 6. Volcan Mombacho - 1345 meters |
| steps up, you slide a step back in the volcanic | | | | On the shores of Lake Nicaragua, Volcan |
| sand. If the noxious gases clear you can see | | | | Mombacho looms above the colonial gem of |
| easily to the Gulf of Fonseca and Honduras and El | | | | Granada. The 365 isletas found in Lake Nicaragua |
| Salvador. If you leave from the coffee plantation | | | | are a result of an eruption many years ago. Now |
| in the saddle before first light you can be back | | | | Mombacho is home to coffee farms, a zip line and |
| down to eat your gallo pinto lunch before 11am. | | | | a few nice hiking trails. The steep sides of the |
| 2. Volcan Concepcion - 1610 meters | | | | volcano are under cloud cover most of the time |
| Concepcion is found on the island of Ometepe and | | | | and the cloud forest makes for great hiking. |
| is shaped like the quintessential cone volcano. It | | | | Mombacho is about 20 minutes from Granada. |
| rises from the northern side of the island and is | | | | 7. Volcan Momotombo - 1258 meters |
| still quite active with the last real eruption in 1986, | | | | Momotombo is shaped in a perfect cone and can |
| although it spit ash in 2005. The first portion of | | | | be seen from Managua and Matagalpa. It is |
| the climb is through a forest filled with monkeys | | | | located on the banks of Lake Managua along with |
| and birds rising up above Lake Nicaragua. As you | | | | it's "son" Momotombito. This is one of the most |
| enter La Floral, the area above the forest, the | | | | challenging volcanoes to climb because of the |
| views are breathtaking and you can see all the | | | | steepness and lack of shade near the top. The |
| way over the lake and the narrow isthmus of | | | | views of the countryside once you get to the top |
| San Juan del Sur to the Pacific. Concepcion can be | | | | are unparalleled. It is a grueling two day climb |
| summitted in one tough day. | | | | which should be done with a local guide. |
| 3. Volcan Consiguina - 859 meters | | | | 8. Volcan Telica - 1061 meters |
| Consiguina presides over the Gulf of Fonseca, | | | | Starting at the boiling mud pits of San Jacinto you |
| where Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador share | | | | can begin your trek to reach the top of Telica. |
| a bay. It last erupted in 1835 when a third of the | | | | There are no roads that pass close to Telica so |
| crater exploded. Now it is home to a giant crater | | | | the majority of the hike is through farms on the |
| lake. Atop the coastal volcano the views of the | | | | way to the foot of the volcano. If you are lucky, |
| pacific are incredible and the greenish blue crater | | | | once you reach the top you can look a few |
| lake is one of a kind. It is possible to drive most | | | | hundred meters down into the caldera to see the |
| of the way up the volcano and the hike to the | | | | bubbly molten orange soup at the bottom. The |
| top is only 3 hours round trip. | | | | hike should take 6-8 hours. The climb is not as |
| 4. Volcan Masaya - 635 meters | | | | steep as some of the other treks. |
| It is possible to drive all the way to the top of | | | | 9. Volcan Cerro Negro - 728 meters |
| Volcan Masaya. The parking attendants make | | | | Cerro negro or black hill is named for the black |
| sure that you park your vehicle facing the exit as | | | | sand that covers it's slopes. In 1999 its eruptions |
| you never know when Masaya will start spitting | | | | blew ash to the city of Leon 25 kilometers away. |
| up chunks of rock. The sulfur smell hangs heavily | | | | Today you can go volcano boarding and cruise |
| in the air and burns deep in your lungs as you look | | | | down the black ash slopes. Eric Barone reached |
| into the steamy pit. The entire drive up the slopes | | | | record speeds of 107 miles per hour on a |
| you will see endless lava fields on either side of | | | | mountain bike flying down the slope of Cerro |
| the road. This the most accessible volcanic crater | | | | Negro before his bike disintegrated. This volcano is |
| in Nicaragua and the only volcano that you can | | | | a short relatively easy climb and can be scaled in |
| drive up. There are a few little hikes you can do | | | | 40 minutes. It is easily accessible from Leon. |
| to the surrounding craters once you are up at the | | | | 10.Volcan El Hoyo - 1050 meters |
| top and there is a little museum worth a minute | | | | El hoyo means "the hole" and that is this volcano's |
| on the way up. It is well worth visiting. | | | | most impressive feature. The dormant volcano |
| 5. Volcan Maderas - 1394 meters | | | | has an enormous hole on its side which is |
| Maderas is a dormant volcano that makes up half | | | | impressive to see. El Hoyo is found near Telica in |
| of the island of Ometepe. The slopes are covered | | | | the department of Leon. |