Nicaragua: Colonial and Volcanoes Route

The Colonial and Volcanoes Route is born from the idea of creating a Central American tourist product that includes more than one hundred colonial and natural destinations. The route extends from Antigua, Guatemala, to Panamá, along the old path laid out by the Spaniards on the pre-existing indigenous routes near the volcanic mountain ranges of the Pacific coast of the region. 

The routes and circuits included on the Colonial and Volcanoes Route were presented in the year 2006. These are located in 6 out of 7 countries of the Central American region, in an effort to unify and promote the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, and the rich heritage of colonial character present in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panamá. 

In 2010 the project became formalized in Nicaragua, in the framework of the “Program of Tourist Routes of Nicaragua”. Here, the Colonial and Volcanoes Route covers from the Cosigüina Volcano in Chinandega, passing by all the volcanic mountain range of the Pacific region, including lagoons, islets, archaeological ruins, protected areas and trails, until you reach the Maderas Volcano in Ometepe island. 

This national route is part of the Colonial and Volcanoes Route in Central America. The purpose of the project is to develop a cultural, natural and touristic offer, and providing opportunities for generation of employment and income diversification for the reduction of poverty in the areas included in the Colonial and Volcanoes Route in Nicaragua while also promoting the development of sustainable rural tourism and adventure. 

The Project “Support to local economic development through tourism sector: Colonial and Volcanoes Route – RCV” was implemented by INTUR with the technical support of the Luxembourg Agency for Development Cooperation (LuxDev). The digitization of the information of the route that makes it accessible to international tourism through digital networks, is an effort of collaboration between Nicaragua Turismo e Inversión and Slick Developers with the support of the Luxembourg Cooperation.