Volcan Masaya National Park

Nice half-day trip, nothing spectacular. Visiting Nicaragua without a volcano visit is almost sacrilegious thus making Masaya your goal is the best bet. It's just off the road leaving Grenada, costs 100 entrance ($3?) and you'll be up at the crater of an active volcano within 10 minutes. That's pretty cool alright.

So I only got here at 2pm and the guide was already telling people not to hike around the rim of the nearby dormant volcano. He actually had his watch set to the wrong time for that - like nobody has a phone to confirm he's 25min off. Brushing the rude staff aside I walked up to the lookout points and realized there is no point to hike around the entire crater as the only good views are on the south side facing the active volcano. As you can see from my picture you can just about get a glimpse of the lava stream glowing down there.

Nicaragua is a land of volcanoes, and the Volcan Masaya is the most spectacular of them all. It's an active complex volcano with a total of five craters and numerous other volcanic features. Masaya continually emits large amounts of sulfur dioxide gas. The site has been on the Tentative List since 1995, but seems to have never been seriously considered.

Volcan Masaya lies within easy reach of a half-day trip from Managua or Granada. It's a very accessible site with a car/taxi or an organized tour. I visited it on a 'Night Tour' from Granada - we were 17 tourists divided over 2 minibuses. After a short visit to the historic market in Masaya City, we arrived in this National Park at about 4.30 p.m.

Apparently this is the only volcano in the western hemisphere where you are able to drive to the rim. And that's what we did first: stand next to a steaming crater. There was so much smoke that it was not possible to look down to see what's boiling inside. Because of the gases, you're only allowed to stay in this area for 5 minutes. I found it remarkable that you're allowed so close, the only risk mitigation measures are signs with texts like: "In case of expulsions of rocks, protect yourself inside your car".

With dawn approaching, we started the second part of the tour in a different area of the park. This is the part where we had to put on a helmet, fit …