The volcano park, the crafts market, the Catarina lookout over Laguna de Apoyo and the hill villages of the Meseta, all in one day.
Why go
The country southeast of Managua packs an extraordinary amount into a small area: an active volcano, a great crater lake, a crafts city and a string of hill villages known for pottery, plants and furniture. It is the most popular day trip from the capital, and with transport arranged you can see a lot without long drives.
Masaya Volcano National Park
Start at Masaya Volcano National Park, where a road climbs to the rim of the Santiago crater. Visit times at the rim may be limited because of volcanic gases, and access depends on activity, so check the current situation before you go.
Masaya town
The town of Masaya is known for its crafts market, its hammock workshops and its long festival season, with processions and traditional dances through the autumn months. The Malecón of Masaya overlooks the Laguna de Masaya, below the volcano.
The Pueblos Blancos
South of Masaya, on the high plateau called the Meseta, lie the so-called Pueblos Blancos, "white towns", named for their whitewashed colonial churches. Catarina has a famous lookout, the mirador, over Laguna de Apoyo with Granada and Lake Nicaragua beyond. San Juan de Oriente is known for pottery; Diriá and Diriomo have their own viewpoints and traditional sweets; Niquinohomo has a fine whitewashed colonial church; and Masatepe is known for furniture. Plant nurseries line the roads.
Putting it together
A comfortable day might be: the volcano in the morning before the heat, the Masaya market late morning, lunch, then the Catarina lookout and a pottery workshop in San Juan de Oriente in the afternoon. Many visitors use a private driver or an organised tour for this circuit; local buses connect the towns but take longer. Read our dispatch on planning the loop for more ideas.