León

Getting There

León is the entry city to Nicaragua for many shuttles leaving Antigua in Guatemala, El Tunco in El Salvador and La Ceiba in Honduras. Many travelers skip Honduras because the shuttle to Honduras is $40 and the shuttle to León is $80. If you go straight from Antigua to León it is a one time payment of $40. Similarly, many travelers only spend a day in El Tunco to break up the journey to León. You can usually negotiate a one day stop over for the same price as going directly. I’d argue that backpackers should pay the extra money and enjoy Honduras and more of El Salvador.

The first thing you will notice when you get to León is that it is hot. Farther south and at a much lower elevation than Guatemala, it is typically 90 degrees Fahrenheit. León is a historic colonial city with many cathedrals to explore. The most famous of these is the Basílica de la Asunción which has a pristine white roof that you can walk on sans shoes. León reminded me of Antigua a lot and after spending so long in Antigua I wasn’t really interested in this style of city anymore. One big difference to Antigua would be its close proximity to the Pacific Ocean. You can take a bus and be swimming or surfing within 30 minutes.

Volcano Adventures

The main reason people come to León is to do the infamous Volcano Boarding on Volcán Cerro Negro. This event was started by the owner of BigFoot Hostel but many other tour companies have hopped on board and run their own tours there. If you stay at a hostel that books the tour through BigFoot, you are better off if you go directly to Bigfoot and book through them. We saved $5 by not booking through the hostel we stayed at. Volcano Day and Quetzeltrekkers also offer volcano boarding with an overnight trek included. I love trekking, but not having a chance to wash the ash from volcano boarding out of my hair did not sound appealing. Volcano boarding with Bigfoot Hostel was a blast. Our guide, Santa, was charismatic and amazingly remembered all 25 of our names. He gave us helpful tips on how to control our speed on the board and encouraged us to drink and celebrate afterwards. Prizes went to the fastest and slowest people down the hill. After the boarding we had a complimentary shuttle to the beach to unwind. With 5 drinks included, it was the best $25 I ever spent.

Another popular volcano activity is the Telica Sunset Hike. This hike is pricey, costing $45 for a 6 hour adventure. In retrospect, I wouldn’t pay for it, but we all had a great time and made friends that we kept running into on the Gringo Trail. This volcano is an hour out of town and starts with a jeep ride. The hike can be done in 45 minutes and is relatively easy. Once on top you see a huge smokey crater and there is a pervasive sulfur aroma. We hiked to the west side of the volcano for sunset before descending down in the dark. Afterwards we played trivia at Via Via and were given dinner and a beer.

Recommendations

Eat at Pan & Paz which is a French Bakery – the coffee and food here is delicious!

León can be experienced fairly quickly. It wasn’t the type of city that I felt a need to linger in. Walk around and enjoy the architecture and do a few volcanoes. After that it is time to head to Granada!