Traveller's Guide 101: Everything you need to know about Nicaragua 'Tierra de Lagos y Volcanes'
Updated: Oct 11, 2019
Prepare your passport because the World is your playground!
On my first edition of #FlagFriday, I begin with my homeland: #NICARAGUA! My birthplace in 1988 and home for most of my life until university, where the ever-changing pace I now enjoy kicked in!
Read below to soak in some Nicaragua wonders, click on the highlighted words for links to more information & view the Nicaragua gallery here for raw shots of its alluring, unchartered territory. I highly encourage you to explore Central America’s “Hidden Gem,” as referred to by CNN Travel, Travel Week, Jetsetter & others! If you do, feel free to message me; nothing is more fulfilling than having you enjoy my stunning country!
◘ Capital: Managua (927,087 people)
◘ Population: 6.22 million (2017)
◘ Language: Spanish, but also recognizes English & indigenous languages (Miskito, Rama, Sumo)
Economy
◘ Agriculture: 17% of Nicaragua's GDP (highest % in Central America.)
◘ Main exports: coffee, rice, bananas, beef, cheese, sugarcane, cotton, textiles
◘ More than 48% of Nicaraguans live under poverty line.
7 Fun Facts about Nicaragua
1. Largest country in the Central American isthmus (Total area of 130,375 km2)
2. Lake Nicaragua is the largest lake in Central America and home to the only freshwater sharks known in the world.
There are over 400 volcanic islands found in Lake Nicaragua.
3. The infamous "Dual Volcano," Volcán Concepción and Volcán Maderas, is located in Nicaragua. It is the only volcano in the world that is fed by two different magma flows, meaning that it can erupt with two types of magma channels.
4. Have you ever been snowboarding? Surfing? There are numerous natural surfaces to glide off... How about a volcano?! León, Nicaragua is the place to go full NatGEO and “volcano board” on Cerro Negro.
5. 86/88 constellations found in the night sky can be seen clearly in Nicaragua.
6. Poetry is one of the most beloved and practiced arts in the country (One of the most influential contributors to the literary movement emerging from Nicaragua was Ruben Dario, leader of the Spanish American literary movement known as Modernismo. He revivified and modernized poetry in Spanish on both sides of the Atlantic through his experiments with rhythm, metre, and imagery.)
7. Nicaragua celebrates religious freedom by adopting no national religion; it is a secular state. However, 85% of the population is Roman Catholic.
History
◘ The name Nicaragua comes from the words nicarao & agua. Nicarao Indians were the first Indian tribes to occupy Lake Nicaragua, and the world agua means water in Spanish.
◘ The Caribbean coast of the country was ruled by Great Britain in the 1800s and therefore they speak English and have traditions similar to what you could find in Great Britain.
◘ 1821: the country gained its independence from Spain and became a part of the Mexican empire.
◘ 5 of the United Provinces of Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) declared their independence from Mexico in July 1823.
◘ Ruins of Leon Viejo, founded by early Spanish settlers over 1,500 years old, is the oldest city in all of Central America.
◘ An earthquake hit Managua in 1972: it killed over 19,000 people and destroyed over 90% of the city's downtown area.
◘ Country elect Violeta Chamorro (1990-1997) was the first female president of any democracy in Central America.
◘ Its culture has many influences from European, African and Caribbean roots.
