Matagalpa

About this place

Matagalpa is a mountain city in north-central Nicaragua, capital of the department of the same name, with about 113,000 people. It is the largest city in the country's interior, nicknamed the «Pearl of the North» and the «Land of Eternal Spring» for its mild climate, and lies about 52 km in a straight line from Estelí. Matagalpa was a village of the indigenous Cacaopera people, who made black pottery and stone statues of their chiefs. The Spanish reached the area around 1528. Gold was found nearby by 1840, drawing German, American and British settlers, and one couple planted the area's first coffee trees, which became the backbone of its economy. The city sits on the continental divide between the Pacific and the Caribbean. Green mountains and coffee farms surround the city, whose houses spread up the valley slopes. In the centre a broad white cathedral with a dome and twin towers faces a square with a bandstand and trees that bloom red in season. A panoramic mountain road runs 30 km to Jinotega, with views reaching the volcanic chain near the coast. The area is known for ecotourism, coffee farm tours and mountain walks. Bring a jacket for the evenings, as it is cooler than the coast, and ask locally about farm tours.