Waterfall Adventures & Other Good, Clean Fun in Northern Nicaragua
Adventures in Nicaragua's coffee country: Matagalpa's waterfalls, Cascada Blanca, and a fairytale stay at Selva Negra. Share in our journey and find travel tips for planning your own adventure.
This update from our travels is packed with wholesome encounters, breathtaking waterfalls, and a fairytale stay in the heart of Northern Nicaragua.
When I visited Esteli back in February with friends, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we’d missed out by not spending more time in the north to explore Matagalpa.
Just 130 km from the capital city of Managua, Matagalpa is nestled among mountains that rise between 700 and 1500 meters above sea level. The region’s frequent rains keep the landscape lush and green, offering a cool climate that blends culture, nature, and history into an unforgettable experience.
A key part of the Coffee Route, Matagalpa boasts nature reserves, stunning waterfalls, coffee farms, and a rich cultural heritage. The area offers a range of quality tourist services including cozy hotels, guest houses, and delicious dining options. Reflecting on that earlier trip, I realized how much there is to see and do in Matagalpa, and so took an opportunity to plan a trip with Trevor while we’re here in Nicaragua finalizing the purchase of our property.
Here are a few of the highlights:
Getting to Matagalpa from Granada
We decided to rent a car and driver/tour guide from Nicaragua Trips. We know and trust them to make our travel through Northern Nicaragua more convenient and enjoyable.
Although it's possible to take buses up to Matagalpa, our tight schedule and desire to see multiple waterfalls north of the city, along with a visit to the Selva Negra Ecolodge, made private transportation the better option. Navigating all these destinations via public transit would have been challenging and time-consuming, but with our trusted guide, we were able to maximize our time.
After experiencing the roads to Esteli and all of the bone-shaking that entailed, I also knew we’d appreciate traveling in an SUV with good shocks! Thankfully, these roads weren’t nearly as bad.
It’s about three hours to drive, give or take, depending on traffic and weather. Give yourself plenty of time for construction, farmers herding cattle down the road, ox and cart slowing things down, etc.
Exploring Northern Nicaragua’s Waterfalls
Our trip north in Nicaragua led us to some of the region’s most stunning waterfalls. With Nicaragua Trips, we first visited Cascada de la Luna, or Waterfall Moon.