The island of Ometepe is divided into a northern and southern part, both starring a volcano. It might be difficult to figure out what to do and where to go when you just get off the ferry. Ideally you spend a day or three on the island, but if you’re a big hiking fan, you can easily stay for an entire week over here.
Being on an island always gives you that nice feeling of isolation, even though Ometepe technically lies in the middle of the country. I’d advise you to leave the ferry towns (whether you land on Moyogalpa or San José del sur) as soon as possible. Unless you’re looking for a lot of bars and town entertainment. Or a hairdresser in my case. However, usually the towns are not really the reason you want to go to Ometepe.
Personally I was a big fan of the south island. It’s extremely idyllic, though it requires a bit more effort to get there (a $30,- cab ride from Moyogalpa, indifferent to the amount of people joining the cab). Try to find more persons on the ferry that are eager to go to the south. Or take the bus, but only if you can afford it to lose some time. On the southwest there’re some nice places to stay, such as Finca Mystica or Hacienda Merida. So in the area of Merida or San Ramon. As from there on you can pick what you’d like to do for the next days:
Jump into the Ojo de Agua
The ‘eye of water’ is very relaxing spot to be for an hour or two. Or for the matter, the entire day. These natural pools are filled with water from the Maderas and extremely clear. You have to feeling to float in a tropical fairytale. The pools are next to the main road, so very easy to visit too, also as a stopover while coming from or going to the the port. Take note that the pools might be crowded during weekends and holidays. Admission is about $4,-
A hike to the San Ramon waterfall
On the southern part of the island there’s a very beautiful waterfall. It’s a part of the volcano Maderas, but it’s not on the road towards the top, you have to make a different hike. The walk itself takes somewhat 3 hours one way, if you’re at a normal hiking level. Downwards you’ll go faster. There’s a lot of shade on the road, but you have to climb a little bit as well in the end, so it’s still pretty intensive. Thankfully you can have a swim in the supercold waters of the waterfall. Brrr.. Admission is somewhat $3,-
Horse riding
Honestly I’m not really a pro at riding horses at all, but in Central America it’s quite nice to do it every once in a while. On Ometepe there’re many opportunities to take a tour. Good to know is that the locals take way better care of their horses compared to the poor skinny horses you see in Granada (the ones I’ve seen at least). Hacienda Merida offers tours from $6,- per hour. It’s really a great way to experience the island itself.
Hiking the Maderas or Concepcion
So yeah, if you’re at Ometepe and you’re staring at the volcanos all day long, it makes sense that at some point the idea pops up to climb one of the two. To make it clear from the start: the Concepción is the tougher one of the two (1610 m. – hike will take some 9/10 hours). But you’d probably had guessed that one already while being on the ferry. The Concepción can be quite chilly (basically windy) too at the top. I’ve already heard some couples saying that this was quite a relation test. But don’t worry, Maderas (on the south island) is pretty intense too (1394 m. – 7 hours) and the road is fascinating as well. The entire road is very green (in contrast to the Concepción hike), since you walk all the way through a cloud forest. This means you’ll probably encounter a lot of animals, mainly birds too.
For both volcanos you need a guide, even though the path to Maderas seems quite easy.
Kayaking
Yes, this is real fun to do. Especially for cooling down if you had a nice hike earlier. There’re several ho(s)tels that rent out kayaks, for about $5,- per hour. Hacienda Merida for example does so and has a lot of kayaks. Over there you can see both volcanos nicely. It’s also close to a couple of islands, amongst them a ‘monkey island’. In somewhat 20 minutes you peddle towards the howlers, capuchin or spider monkeys. Make sure not to get to close, otherwise the monkeys will jump into your kayak. Unless you don’t mind them inspecting your belongings for food.
Watching the sunset
Make sure you’re at the west side of the island as soon as the sun sets in (or even better, book you’re hotel on that side). Grab a beer and some company and enjoy the last rays of light as the birds go wild around you chasing mosquitos. That said, bring some repellent too. Settle down, sip that Toña and relax. The best kind of gold is derived from the sun after all right?
