The Central American nation of Nicaragua is in the spotlight this week after Jack Brooksbank proposed to his long-term girlfriend Princess Eugenie during a holiday there.
Sandwiched between Costa Rica and Honduras, and with both Caribbean and Pacific coasts, Nicaragua is enjoying something of a tourism boom - overnight visits to the country rose by around 25 per cent last year, to almost two million, according to early estimates.
In fact, it was recently named one of Telegraph Travel’s top 20 destinations to visit in 2018. So what’s the big draw?
1. There are private islands
The couple were reportedly staying at Calala Island, an exclusive five-star retreat. It’s a contender for the most expensive resort in the entire country with rates starting from around £1,000 a night.
“Be a willing castaway on this idyllic private island, the first five-star resort in the unspoilt ‘NiCaribbean’,” says our reviewer, Sarah Gilbert. “Perfect for couples, there’s just four rustic-luxe beachfront suites shaded by towering palms. Blissfully remote it may be, but there’s fine dining and first-rate cocktails.”
It’s an hour’s flight from Managua, the Nicaraguan capital, to Bluefields, then around two hours by boat – a spectacular journey past fishing villages, through mangroves and out into open sea.
2. And luxury mountain retreats
Nicaragua’s luxury hotel revolution extends beyond the beach. Nekupe, the country’s first luxury mountain resort, sits in a lush landscape overlooking the evergreen slopes of the Mombacho volcano.
Sarah Gilbert writes: “Boutique, contemporary and stylish, Nekupe was designed to bring the outdoors in, and a feng shui-inspired architect helped create the highest energy flow with the lightest environmental impact.”
3. It’s an enthralling, evocative place
Chris Moss, our Latin America expert, explains: “Nicaragua has a unique cultural dimension, expressed through extraordinary religious fiestas, authentic folk music, thriving agricultural communities and the poems of ‘father of modernismo’ Rubén Darío (as influential as T S Eliot or Borges, yet not known half as well). Arguably the most enthralling ‘sell’, though, is pride and dignity borne of resistance. All over art-loving university town León, walls are spattered with graffiti honouring national heroes. In the capital Managua, dedicated parks and striking monuments keep the memory alive. And, unlike in Cuba, you never feel you’ll choke on clichés.”
4. There’s the coffee
“The cool highlands of northern Nicaragua produce some of the finest shade-grown Arabica in the world,” says Matt Bannerman, writing for Telegraph Travel. “Many producers are now concentrating on quality, introducing organic methods and working with fair-trade organisations. Some are also diversifying into tourism. January is harvest season, when migrant labourers descend on the estates to pick the ripe ‘cherries’ by hand. In May the floración covers the hillsides in white coffee flowers.”
The rum and cigars are pretty good, too.
5. The rainforest
Visitors will find lush rainforests aflutter with butterflies, birds and monkeys. Nicaragua has an impressive 675 species of bird, 1071 types of fish, 203 mammals, 198 reptiles and 71 amphibians. It’s paradise for animal lovers, basically.
Date | Fecha: Januar 23, 2018
Source: The Telegraph
