Two blocks east of the Parque Central you’ll find the town’s primary roadside attraction, where Nicaragua's most famous writer Rubén Darío was born. Although the young poet didn’t spend more than a few weeks in this sweet 19th-century adobe (this was his aunt’s house), the museum is quite cool, with a mid-1880s kitchen, a Rubén Darío timeline and a wonderful amphitheater on the grounds, where the museum hosts the rare poetry reading or theater production.
Casa Natal Rubén Darío
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
26.15 MILES
A steep yet worthwhile hour’s hike from the cemetery and embedded in a boulder-crusted ridge is the town cross, originally placed here in 1703 by…
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29.45 MILES
Be sure to stop by this moving gallery devoted to fallen revolutionaries, with displays of faded photos, clothes and weaponry. Check out the exhibit (with…
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Casa Museo Comandante Carlos Fonseca
19.14 MILES
Commander Carlos Fonseca, the Sandinista equivalent of Malcolm X (read: bespectacled, goateed, intense, highly charismatic), grew up desperately poor in…
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23.55 MILES
If you’re looking for comfort with your virgin cloud forest experience, then Selva Negra – part family resort, part coffee farm and part rainforest…
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24.13 MILES
Artist and naturalist Alberto Gutiérrez is, some might say, a bit of a hermit – but a welcoming one who loves showing off his orchid-studded property,…
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25.68 MILES
In Tisey’s lower elevations, just 5km from Estelí, is the inspiring Salto Estanzuela, a gushing 36m waterfall that careens over a bromeliad-studded cliff…
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Reserva Hídrica Municipal La Chorrera
25.2 MILES
A community-run nature reserve designed to protect the town's water supplies, this innovative project has a number of hikes marked out, including the four…
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19.43 MILES
This absorbing museum features large, glossy, printed displays in Spanish and English on the roots of modern coffee production in the region, as well as…
Nearby attractions
10.61 MILES
This archaeological site up on a hill outside town features more than 60 zoomorphic petroglyphs, including many depicting deer. The path is not at all…
2. Museo Precolombino de Chagüitillo
11.09 MILES
This worthwhile little museum has two rooms of Chorotegan pottery and an exhibit on local hero Domingo Sánchez Salgado (aka Chagüitillo), one of the…
11.21 MILES
This petroglyph site alongside a stream just outside town features a swirl of moons, snakes and dancers 3m long and 2m high carved into rocks. The site is…
18.34 MILES
Graveyard fans should check out both the Foreigners Cemetery (and nearby National Cemetery) on the eastern edge of town, where you'll find great views and…
5. Casa Museo Comandante Carlos Fonseca
19.14 MILES
Commander Carlos Fonseca, the Sandinista equivalent of Malcolm X (read: bespectacled, goateed, intense, highly charismatic), grew up desperately poor in…
19.16 MILES
Originally constructed in 1751 and used as a jail for indigenous rebels in the late 1800s, this church was rebuilt in 1917 by Franciscan friars. The…
19.37 MILES
The 1751 Iglesia Molagüina, in the center of town, is the plainest of Matagalpa's churches, but has nice gardens.
19.43 MILES
This absorbing museum features large, glossy, printed displays in Spanish and English on the roots of modern coffee production in the region, as well as…