The oldest colonial city in Nicaragua

Our next move while in Nicaragua took us to what ended up to be the most beautiful colonial city we were in this entire trip. I can also already say this because I am writing this travel guide after returning to London and after having been in Costa Rica which was the last country we visited in the journey. While Leon was fascinating, Granada took majority of protagonism. So well preserved! And so much to see and do. We did actually struggle with the time as we could have spent easily much longer.

After our experience I can definitely tell you that while a day is more than enough for visiting Granada, we came a bit too late from Managua. Aim to take a bus around 9.00am and you will be very well on track without any rush and enjoying more than we actually did. Remember that the days are too short in Central America with sunset by 18.00pm, time you should also make your way back when the last buses depart towards the capital.

Granada is the 3rd largest city in the country and has always been rival city with Leon since colonial times. The fact that is lies near, yet far enough from the active volcanoes, means earthquakes and volcanic eruptions rarely affect the city hence why it has survived to our days with the original colonial core almost intact and extremely well preserved. I question myself the odds on why it has not been included as an UNESCO World Heritage Site yet. I’m sure it will make it to the list anytime soon, specially after the many ongoing efforts and projects of restoration currently in place and the many others planned. (more…)