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Municipality in Estelí Department, Nicaragua
Photo: Ozkr javier.ubeda, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Estelí is a city in the Northern Highlands of Nicaragua. Estelí continues to be a Sandinista stronghold and you can see almost as many murals bearing witness of this as in León. It is also a center of the coffee- and tobacco- growing industries of Nicaragua.
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A community consisting mostly of organic farmers plus an amazingly good cheese factory. To visit, you need to. From the cerro you can see Lake Managua to the south, the chain of volcanos along the Pacific and, on a clear day, part of El Salvador on the other side of the Gulf of Fonseca.
An agricultural cooperative. There are a number of places at Miraflor where you can stay in cabins or with families, ride horses, meet farmers, looks at orchids, etc. Visit Hospedaje Luna for more information.
These friendly women will show you how they make paper and will let you get your hands wet to make some paper yourself. The central core of their work is recycling paper mixed with plant-based waste such as banana stalks, corn husks, coconut shells, onion skins and other vegetable fibres. They make their own unique textured papers by hand. After sun-drying they artfully craft them into beautiful greeting cards and other items which they display and make available for you to acquire to take with you. They have three organic gardens: one for natural herbal medicines donated by Stanford University in 2010, one for organic vegetables, and one for indigenous tropical plants that you can stroll through during weekdays. This is an excellent photo opportunity, you can pose in front of beautiful rich colourful murals, painted on the outside walls that tell the history of the project and show the steps of the papermaking process. All this rests in a large, tranquil, park-like setting. Another building has a mural showing the development of the Ekokids from the surrounding barrios, especially Boris Vega. These underprivileged kids are learning good environmental and health practices. If you have the time, they encourage you to spend time volunteering and living with a family in the barrio for a week or month or longer to really learn the culture better. Some volunteers have stayed for a year or more.
A nature preserve just south of Esteli. On the way up, you can stop in Estanzuela and see a waterfall. The water is very cold. But worth the trip. Buses leave everyday except Wednesdays from Cotran Sur at 06:30 and 13:30.
Excellent local and international food at reasonable prices in a great environment with friendly staff.
Brilliant waffles, cakes, bagels, batidas, and good coffee, mocha coffee drinks, fresh juices, light fare of sandwiches and sopas. Live music every Friday night starting at 20:00.
Best weekend dance venue, Rancho bar, made of palm roof style, great live music, watch out for "Cafe", young group, mixed age clientele, good disco between live music Thursday-Sunday.
Modern and upscale disco and lounge. Sells excellent cigars as well. C$100 (US$5) entry fee. Mixed local and tourist or business travellers clientele.
Formerly the legendary Studio 54, fairly central on the Pan Am, much of the same beautiful people dancing reggaeton and Donna Summa. Karaoke inside too.
Near market on calle central. Packed small karaoke bar, with cheesy carpets, sponge-painted Vegas surrounds the serious singers, smoke filled atmosphere that parties until dawn.
Great evening atmosphere with really excellent, well-priced food, local rum and Mojitos to challenge Cuba. Cold local beers and good Chilean wines too. Often has local musicians entertaining.
Gringo central with clean dorms and a few single rooms: clean, fresh, attractive and fun, with central garden, hammock and seating area, cable TV lounge and movies for all, with the cheapest rates for backpackers, couples and group, the dorms are US$8 per person. Good place to meet other travellers, and get information in English and Spanish. Has hot water, laundry facilities, free organic coffee and teas, bike hire, cigar factory tours, live music nights out tours, and more. Make reservations or be sure to be abundantly clear with your intended length of stay as they will not hesitate to give your bed away from under you if a larger group should require it. No lockers in the dorms.
Beautiful, clean hotel with simpatico staff, rooms are arranged around a central garden with tropical birds and a friendly duck. Double with private bath and TV: US$17.50, single with shared bath, and no TV: C$233/US$10.
Pros: cheapest deal in Esteli (US$6 single, US$10 double), charming old hotel, nice lobby with reading area, courtyard, communal kitchen, relatively clean. Cons: bitter old prejudiced owners, jaded & inhospitable (the family who run it). They apparently have a grudge against Americans or Western tourists.)
There are two bus stations both on the Pan American about 100m from each other. The southern is smaller and better organised but more buses come and go from the north.
Read in the guideLocal buses (C$4 to any destination) and shared taxis (C$12 in the central area and no more than C$20 within the city. Agree on the price before you get in). You can easily walk around the city center.
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Articles and travel topics about Esteli and Nicaragua.
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