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Ometepe, the island of volcanoes that bathes in the fresh water of Nicaragua

In the largest lake in Nicaragua, Cocibolca, the island of Ometepe rises to the surface proudly displaying its two large volcanoes surrounded by tropical forests, abundant nature and striking vestiges of pre-Columbian cultures.

If you look closely and observe Nicaragua from a satellite view, in the narrowest part of the country, where it joins Costa Rica, there appears to be as much land as water. That great lake you see is Cocibolca, or Great Lake of Nicaragua. It is the largest in all of Central America and in its interior a very special island stands out: Ometepe. A unique place that is well worth visiting.

The name Ometepe comes from the Nahuatl Ometepetl, which means 'two hills', and that is something you will understand from the first moment you see it. Two large volcanoes emerge from the lake joined by a small arm of land and are surrounded by a mass of water so large that the first Spaniards to arrive thought it was a sea, and they did not realize that it was fresh water until they saw their horses drink from it.

The great protagonists of Ometepe are Concepción and Maderas, two volcanoes that give meaning to the island. The Concepción rises to 1,610 meters high and had its most recent phase of activity in 2007, while the Maderas remains at 1,394 meters and is considered extinct. Covered by tropical forests rich in flora and fauna, and often also by a small beret of clouds, the two large cones of Ometepe are a magnet for travelers who want to discover one of the most unique areas of Nicaragua.

Nature, volcanoes and pre-Columbian culture.

Ometepe has many of the charms of Nicaragua concentrated in a very small space, it has a total of 276 km2 and its population does not reach 30,000 inhabitants, so it can be very interesting to spend a few days on the island to soak up everything it offers. . . Ok, it doesn't have paradisiacal beaches like those on Corn Island, but beaches with freshwater waves have their own and they are not exactly easy to find.

Here, whether you go with the intention of looking for fauna in the middle of the jungle, want to hike to the top of the volcanoes, cool off in a mighty waterfall, learn about pre-Columbian cultures or simply relax in a hammock, Ometepe have a plan for you. Treks that lead to the volcanoes require certain physical preparation and it is advisable to hire the services of a guide as they can be complicated and take between six and ten hours. If you prefer to take a dip, the Ojo de Agua is one of those places that you cannot miss. An artificial pool of natural, crystalline water, with medicinal properties according to some, in which bathing surrounded by birds and wild monkeys becomes quite an experience.


To enjoy the fauna of Ometepe we cannot ignore the Charco Verde Natural Reserve. Here we have enough trails at our disposal to enter the forests on our own and let ourselves be overwhelmed by the songs of its numerous and varied birds. There are viewpoints, a butterfly garden, mangroves and even the possibility of kayaking through its lagoon. Furthermore, on the slopes of Maderas, the San Ramón waterfall also takes you to the greenest heart of the island, at the same time you marvel at its 50-meter drop and let yourself get wet by water that comes from the lagoon that exists in the crater of the volcano.
But in Ometepe there is also culture and history, and here we find the largest concentration of petroglyphs in all of Nicaragua. We will see many of them in the surroundings of Maderas, in some farms in the area, and you can take guided tours to get to know them. There is evidence that the island has been inhabited since at least 1,500 BC, but most of the petroglyphs that we will see were made after 300 BC. Inscriptions and drawings carved into stones that expressed ideas, beliefs and religious symbols. Although to learn more about them and the pre-Columbian cultures that inhabited Ometepe, it is best to go to the Ometepe Museum, in Altagracia.

Some practical tips to get to know Ometepe

The island of Ometepe is well connected, and although it has a small airport, the option of flying to it has little demand and less supply, so the best option is to arrive by ferry. The frequency of the boats is high throughout the day, the departure port is in San Jorge, in Rivas, and the arrival port is in Moyogalpa. There are also boats, faster and more expensive, but if it is windy and the lake is rough, the ferry conveys greater security and tranquility.

Once on the island there is a road that borders the Concepción volcano and another that surrounds the Maderas. There is public transportation by bus, which will be good for us to travel longer distances, but to be able to move around at our leisure, without a doubt the best option is to rent our own vehicle. You will see that there are numerous agencies that rent small motorcycles, ideal for getting around the island's roads, although many accommodations also offer them or manage them with third parties.

Accommodation in Ometepe is varied, from high-end hotels to backpacker hostels. So you can choose between staying in more populated areas with more services or resorting to lost places immersed in nature. If you are looking for an experience that immerses you fully in the Nicaraguan jungle, perhaps it is best to look for an old farm converted into accommodation so you can sleep with the sound of the rain and the howler monkeys in the background. Because they can be nights that remain in memory.

And one last piece of advice: if you want to get to know Ometepe as it is, do it as soon as possible. The shadow of the project that wants to build the Nicaragua Canal, similar to the Panama Canal, has been hovering over the island for a long time. The canal would link the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean using Lake Cocibolca in its path, with the enormous natural and ecological disaster that this would entail. Already in 2013, Nicaragua handed over the concession of the canal to the Chinese giant HKND Group, and even in 2014 Russia announced that it would participate in it, but after many comings and goings, and many exorbitant budgets, since 2018 the project is considered canceled. However, the idea of ??the Nicaragua Canal continues to be in the air from time to time, tempering Ometepe more than its volcanoes do.





The island of Ometepe with its 276 kilometers
square, 20 miles long and 9 miles wide, is the island
largest in a freshwater lake,
It has the shape of an imperfect eight that in each space houses
a volcano that is the conception volcano that
It has an almost perfect cone and the woods volcano that
It houses a lagoon. Ometepe is of Nahuatl origin.
means: ome, two; tepetl, hill or volcano; Island of two
hills or two volcanoes.


It is reached by sailing from the port of Granada or
closer from the port of San Jorge (Rivas). The island
With about 26,000 inhabitants it is an oasis of peace and tranquility and is
the healthiest place in crime and most depolarized
politically.

The structural form of the island of Ometepe, this
made up of two large cities such as: Moyogalpa and
High grace. Moyogalpa has a semi-humid climate,
in language
Mexicana means ancient Nahualt; mosquito town
mosquitoes And Altagracia, originally Aztagalpa "Herons' Nest"
It has similar characteristics to those of
Moyogalpa.

In the narrow part of the island, the isthmus of
Istian, whose narrowest part is less than 4
kilometers, when winter is beneficial the waters
They completely cover as if the island were divided in two
parts.

What stands out most about the island are its two
extinct volcanoes: the
Concepción and Maderas which offer a varied
vegetation where the land is
fertile and productive for crops. Its inhabitants
They mainly dedicate themselves to agriculture.
In some parts of the island the soil is not
beneficial for agricultural activity.

The island of Ometepe is divided into three zones:

zone 1: northeastern sector of the volcano
Conception. This area extends from Altagracia by
northeast to San José del sur on the southwest side
of the Concepción volcano, the area has a
extension of 127 square kilometers
approximately, with greater density
population, conservation forests and vegetation
strongly degradable. On the slopes of the volcano
Concepción there are several towns where
There are the main productive activities: Agriculture
and livestock. Watermelon is the predominant crop in this
area, followed by banana and
sesame.

b) Zone 2: Central Sector. The central area of ??the island
It includes the Isthmus of Istiam from the slopes of the volcano
Concepción to the towns of Balgues and Mérida
to the southwest, with an extension of 69 kilometers
approximately square. The floors are
fine clay texture, which provide conditions
optimal for agricultural development. The crops
The predominant ones are: rice, bananas and grass. The
livestock activity is a source of job creation, as well
like the incipient fishing activity of Santo
Sunday.

Zone 3: Maderas Volcano Sector. This zone
includes the entire Maderas Volcano, with an extension
of 80 square kilometers, presents a variable and irregular topography, with
floors
rocky and relief
mountainous. The height of the Maderas volcano is
1,395 meters. The vegetation is thick and with a good degree
of conservation, there the agricultural activity
that predominates is the cultivation of Coffee
and timber species, for the export of wood, also
crops of rice, corn and
banana.
Natural resources are characterized by their almost
virgin, which allows a recreation
to the viewer.

On the island there are approximately ninety species of
birds, thirteen
mammals, twenty-two reptiles and
amphibians.

The ethnology and history of the island of
Ometepe enrich the
knowledge of visitors and the Nicaraguan people
empirically. Lithics and ceramics are the richest and what
more attracted by the culture of
towns that populated the island in ancient times. The
Island lithics include statues, metals,
mortars, etc. The statues are divided into small and
large associated with animals. The
The stone of Ometepe is related to the statuary of
the Mayans and
other peoples culturally at ends but with slight
differences.

In Ometepe there is a type of ceramic with a natural color and
quite rustic. In Ometepe there is the
red and polychrome ceramic
others black. Ometepe ceramics are
known as "Cerámica Luna".

Three characteristics stand out in the
Ometepe ceramics:

Perfection of form.
Artistic ornamentation.
Multiple variety
typological.

In addition to existing on the island of Ometepe the
monochrome ceramic, we also have the
polychrome ceramics, the famous pottery type
Moon.

The investigations
ARCHAEOLOGICAL IN NICARAGUA published in Washington by the
Smithsonian Institution in 1881, they gave
let the scientific world know about the discoveries made
by Doctor Bransford in the excavations carried out on the island
of Ometepe, on the estate of Don José Ángel Luna,
whose name is given to the type of ceramic
artistically decorated that has made famous
Nicaragua.

The main patron saint festivities of Moyogalpa and
Altagracia are: San Diego and Santa Ana respectively

San Diego is celebrated in the month of November, beginning
on the twelfth, lasting eight days. The
The main attraction of this festival is the traditional dance
Zompopo, as well as the bullfight.

The celebration of Santa Ana takes place on the 23rd of
July in Moyogalpa, lasting four days. HE
characterized by the Dance of Las Inditas, where they come from
the beach to the church
Moyogalpa with its typical dresses and flowers in response
to a promise offered to this saint.

As a tourist attraction, the island has beaches,
such as: Venice Beach, Taguizapa Beach, Punta de Jesús
Maria, Santo Domingo and many more. It also has
rivers like the Buen Suceso, which is the largest in
the island, the Balgues River, the Tichana River and the
Istiam River. It also has lagoons such as Punta Gorda,
Laguna Maderas and Charco Verde, whose beauties are
characterized by their legends,
stories that contain, which are used as an end
tourist.

The island of Ometepe has agreements and twinning with
various international countries and cities. Altagracia
relates to the city of Herne in Germany and the
Brainbridge Island, USA.

On the island of Ometepe, vestiges of the
aboriginal art.
How is the ceramic that reflects their customs and
traditions. Among the types of ceramics found
are: vessels in the shape of shoes, birds and others
animals,
many with imitations of idols, used to deliver
offerings of
I pray to the gods.

Ometepe is an "oasis of peace and tranquility."



The island of Ometepe is an emerald lost in the
breast of Nicaragua. The name of this majestic island comes
of the tongue
Nahuatl from the word Ometepetl which means place
of two hills or volcanoes. Historically it is a
cradle of two great cultures: that of Mexico and that of Guatemala.



Through the years the island of
Ometepe has been the refuge and the land
promised to many tribes who have bequeathed their own identity to the island, since it
25,000 years ago its first settlers crossed the
Bering Strait, they already knew of the existence of
this place by some visitors. The history
He tells us that these people did not come at speed but slowly, saving all kinds of
of difficulties. Tribes of Nahuatl and Olmec origin,
They made new migrations and arrived at Ometepe by
north, which were invaded by the Chorotegas and the
Nicaraguans, who together turned the island into
a sacred place of riches
archaeological.

The discovery of the island was in 1522, by Gil
González Dávila and the first Spaniard to set foot on land
ometepina was Gabriel de Rojas.

All this history has motivated many tourists to
visit the island with the hope of finding all the
archaeological riches and identity that the
tribes that populated the island.

In the history of the island there are two places that
highlight the cultures of the aborigines that
existed on the island, its archaeological remains and the
way of life led by the Indians who populated the island
a thousand years ago. Among these we have:

Altagracia Museum


In it is the compilation
history of the island and contains the
most important collection, there is
also dance performances and the customs of different
towns.

There are models in this museum that represent
the different types of agricultural activities, the
soils, volcanoes, regions and towns that distinguish
to the island. There are paintings alluding to customs
indigenous, ancient ceramics and
instruments they used to hunt, urns
funeral homes made of mud and stones where
They deposited the corpses of the Indians.

It is a center of attraction
tourist visited with greater influence by
students and people who study the heritage of
each village.

Archaeological Hall of
Moyogalpa

It is located in the urban area of ??Moyogalpa, in
In this archaeological room we find a great variety of
crafts, archaeological pieces. In this one
They sell some representative objects of the island. There is
carved stones, objects alluding to the gods of the
aborigines, pots, semi-real images of the
ancient customs.

Museums

The island of Ometepe has a value
special cultural for having been a religious center and the
cradle of two great cultures: that of Mexico and that of Guatemala. Sample
of these are the petroglyphs that are unique at the level
continental, for its quantity, variety and value
artistic.

There are many needs in Ometepe tourism.
Such as:

Road improvement and conditioning
that goes from Moyogalpa to Altagracia, which is located
deteriorated and in poor condition.
Greater training for guides
tourists, teaching them other languages
for better communication with
tourists.
The expansion and equipment of
Hotels.
There is a need for support from
institutions and other non-governmental organizations, but
mainly the support of the Government.
Need to have control of tourism on the island
of Ometepe to improve the economy.
It is necessary to promote more options to transport to
the island and with greater capacity.

The story that tells how this happened is impressive.
twinning between the United States Brainbrige Island and
our island of Ometepe, but even more impressive are all the
projects that the members of this twinning have carried out
on the island.

In Ometepe and specifically in the city of
Altagracia, not far from the park we can find the headquarters of
this twinning, a small office where
There are two representatives of this; a native of the island of
Ometepe and another on Brainbrige Island, which provide
information about twinning and velan
because all projects are carried out.

This twinning has been in existence for 15 years and
has given the opportunity to many islanders to get to know another
country and another culture.

Among the projects that have been carried out are
the following:

Installation of the service
drinking water throughout the Maderas Volcano sector,
through the lagoon.
Scholarships for young high school students
even university students.
Preparation of classrooms in schools where they do
missing (La Flor, San Marcos, La Concha, etc.).
Construction of parks.
Construction of health centers.
Homes in rural areas.
Others.
The system of
work on these projects is that those on Brainbrige Island
finance the entire project and those of
community
They collaborate with labor and other things.

Annually for the months of March and April (Holy Week)
Groups of 21 arrive on the island
students from Brainbrige Island, who
divided into three communities to work on the projects that in
the place are being made.

There are also the so-called coffee growers, those who
They arrive to the island in the months of November and December to
make coffee cuts, which they take to the island
Brainbrige to be packaged and then exported to others
countries. The proceeds from this sale are used
to carry out projects on the island. The coffee of
Ometepe is very famous in Brainbrige, which has motivated many
to know our beautiful island and in this way increases our
tourist activity, since the young people who arrive
to the island of Ometepe to work on projects they return to the island to
walk with your family and friends.

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