THINGS TO DO
HORSERIDING, FISHING, EXPLORING, discover Nicaragua’s
nature and culture.
HORSEBACK RIDING | FISHING | EXPLORING | EXCURSIONS
The spacious open-air ranchos are ideal for relaxing between surf sessions. Guests watch the surf from their hammocks and cool off with a cold drink.
Local families and friends enjoy our restaurant for day visits. Our pristine beaches and peaceful settings are only an 1 1/2 hour drive away from Managua..
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For those who don't like to stray far from the water, a delightful ride along the shore might end spontaneously in a refreshing swim! It's an experience that should not be missed.
Our local guide will take you along the beach to the North or to the South. 1.5hr trail: $12 per person.
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Surfcasting
Snooks, pompanos, snappers, maquerels, parrot fish can be caught right from shore.
The best time of the year is the rainy season, between June and October. The rivermouths are open. Big snook and Cabrera snapper are feeding on smaller fish and shrimp coming out of the estuaries.
In the dry season (November to May) needle fish are running inshore. Lots of barracudas and bonita pompano are feeding on the bait.
Bring your fishing gear (rod and reel for surf casting)
Bring lures and spoons. Live bait can be purchased from the local fishermen.
You can also hire a local fisherman to catch mullets with a cast net and show you the best spots for surfcasting with a hand reel ($5 per person).
Sorry, boat trips are not organized from our beach.
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Explore miles of deserted beaches, wide sandy beaches, rocky points, tide pools, ocean lagoon. Stay up at night and encounter a majestic sea turtle as it comes to lay eggs on the beach. Discover the wildlife of the preserved habitats of mangroves and coastal forest at Los Cardones. Visit a site of indigenous stone carvings (petroglyphs).
Beach Combing
Visitors can enjoy kilometers of undeveloped beaches for beach combing, diving, swimming, surfing and fishing. A small ocean lagoon is created at low tide at the nearby beach of San Diego offering great snorkeling and wading. Join local fishermen and catch lobsters by hand in the reefs, or pick up a variety of edible shells.
Sea turtles lay their eggs on the beach all year around.
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Wildlife
We are preserving several acres of our tropical dry forest for wildlife observation including the shore of the San Maquado creek and its mangroves. It is a beautiful area typical of the wetland ecosystem of coastal Nicaragua. Both the tropical dry forest and the mangroves are precious habitats to local and migratory species.
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Typical species of the wetland Pacific of Nicaragua are spectacled caimans, iguanas, black-crab hawks, spoonbill herons, great herons, aigrets, Pacific parrakeets and perrots, hummingbirds, motmots, trogons, cuckoos, agoutis, tree porckepines, coyotes, racoons, white squirrels.
Hiking
In the Nicaraguan countryside people travel by foot, by horse or with oxcarts. Numerous trails connect the villages to rivers, coastal forests and estuaries where people forage, fish and hunt. Following these trails will give you a chance to experience the lifestyle of the local people and discover a variety of landscapes.
San Maquado Trail
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Visitors can explore the immediate surroundings of Los Cardones on a 2km trail that runs along the San Maquado Creek to the basaltic pools then through the riverbed lined with viscoyol palms, along a cattle ranch and to a luxurious plantain plantation in the forest.
A longer hike in the same direction will lead you to the house of Chico and Orlinda, across cornfields, along the sugar cane plantation then towards the beach through the settlement of Will Velasquez and his familly.
As you get close to the beach you have to cross a lagoon on a makeshift bridge of logs. If it is a little slippery and you feel uneasy balancing
on the partially submerged logs, you may feel comfort in the smiles of Will´s children as you are giving them a week´s worth of entertainment!
If you timed your hike to walk this stretch of beach at low tide you are guaranteed to find a score of shells and especially the beautiful sand dollars.
Other hikes can lead you to beautiful rivers, ocean cliffs or woods.
Stone Carvings (Petroglyphs)
The bed of the river is a basaltic lava flow (result of the continental plate convergence) on which ancient civilization carved many different drawings. From the greek 'petros'-rock and 'gluphein'-to carve, a PETROGLYPH is a drawing carved into a stone.
Primitive drawings have been found on every continent except Antarctica.
What are their signification? Some are considered as the forerunners of writing, some as art while others seem to have been designed more for communication than for aesthetic pleasure.
For more information on petroglyphs, here are some links:
http://culturelink.info/petro/
http://www.rupestre.net/rockart/
Nicaragua's most beautiful sights are only a couple of hours from Los Cardones. Let us organize a guided tour for you.
Nicaragua’s Highlights ($140)
Choose 3 of the following destinations to create your own tour of Nicaragua’s most visited places
- Granada: Experience the beauty and colonial charm of Nicaragua’s most attractive town. Have a drink in front of Cathedral de Granada. Watch town go by in Parque Central.
- Volcan Masaya: Drive to the edge of Crater Santiago to peek at the red lava down below, smell the sulfurous smoke coming from the earth. Enjoy the view from the lunar landscape of Nicaragua’s best National Park.
- Masaya Market: Be a part of the culture and vibrnace of Nicaragua’s largest craft market. Stroll the stalls of the new and ald market place, go home with an authentic hammock and beautiful ceramics.
- Laguna de Apoyo: Have lunch, swim and relax in the crystal clear waters of Laguna de Apoyo volcanic crater lake. Bring your camera and look our for the howler monkeys.
- Catarina look-out:
- Take in the scenery at the Catarina look-out on the edge of the crater of Apoyo.
- Potter’s workshop in San Juan del Oriente: Meet a local artist in his workshop and try your han at this skillful art.
Day in Leon and volcan Cerro Negro ($140)
Climb volcan Cerro Negro and enjoy the views from its edges. Visit the old Spanish city of Leon, city of the 1979 revolution. You will find museums of art and culture, political murals, cathedral and churches. Have lunch outsite Leon’s Cathedral and its lion statues.
Volcan Mombacho & Granada ($150)
Climb into the cloud forest of Volcan Mombacho in a 4X4 truck. Slide atop the tree canopy on the zip-line tour. Explore the luxurious jungles of the volcano on a 1-hr level hike around the crater. Monkeys, pumas, tree frogs and orchids are all part of the Mombacho adventure. Visit Granada and its architectural treasures.
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