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This page will provide you with some general Information which Hospedaje Soma put together for you.To get further information beyond this page please have a look in one of the tourist guide books of this region.
Map of Ometepe
Geography and general Informations about Ometepe Island
Ometepe Island is situated in Lake Nicaragua and its surface of 274 km² makes it one of the biggest fresh water islands in the world. The names origin comes from the Nahuatl language and means two (ome) mountains (tepetl) due to to its two majestic volcanos which are connected by a little isthmus. The Concepcion volcano is the bigger one and scales up to 1610 m. Through the 4km long and at its tinnest part 2km wide isthmus it is connected with the Maderas volcano which reaches 1394 m.
The Nahual tribe, coming from Mexico, populated the island around 1500 BC, later the Niquirano indians also settled on Ometepe. For a long time the island served as a burial ground. Even in present days findings of ceramics through excavations are reported. Thease items were given to the dead for their journey into the afterlife. Ometepe's ceramics with its typical sorrel shade was found in different places all over the country, wherefore it is presumed that the island was one of the centers of manufactureing. Lots of petroglyphs and idols can be found on Ometepe. The adornments on the petroglyphs like monkeys, turtels, simple faces, and especially for Ometepe, circles and spirals were terms of expressions to chronicle stories and events.
The Island has, as in general in central america, a manifold flora and fauna. There are much more mammals (monkeys, little bears), reptiles and amphibians (snakes, caimans) and insects (ants, firebugs,...) spotted than mentioned here. Ometepe has a distinctive variety of birds like the Three Wattled Bell Bird, Yellow Naped Parrot, Pacific Pakreet, White Throated Magpie Jay or Colibris. In 2008 an endemic species of salamander (Bolitoglossa insularis) was found on the island.
In Lake Nicaragua exist a lot of varieties of fresh water fish. The most popular comestible fish are Lagunero / Guapote and Mojarras. The population of fresh water sharks has suffered a lot in the last years and the remaining are seen around San Carlos / Rion San Juan.
The Island of Peace, as locals call their island, also has a great variety of flowers, bushes, medical plants and trees. Cedro, Pochote, Ceiba, Cashews, Almonds, Mangos etc, are among the most seen.
Ardisia ometepensis is an endemic tree to Ometepe. Called little grape by the locals it grows above 500 m.
Ometepe is divided in two adminstrive districts. Moyogalpa, the smaller one, in the noth-western part and Altagracia, which extends over parts of Concepcion and all the Maderas area. About 40000 people live on the island, most of them on the more densly populated and with better infrastructure provided around Concepcion. Tourism, livestock and agriculture are the most important economic factors. Rice and beans for the typical nicaraguan plate, Gallo Pinto, are also grown here. Plaintains (Platano, Guineo...) are the main products of Ometepe, which by reason of their quality are sold on the markets all over central america. Watermelons, sesame, wheat, coffee, tabaco, and sweet corn are other typical products of the region.
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Volcán Concepción
Moyogalpa
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The two main villages on Ometepe are located at the bottom of Volcán Concepción. where as Moyogalpa is the islands commercial center and the most important port. It has an estimated 5000 inhabitants. The only Bank on Ometepe is in Moyogalpa, as well as cyber cafés, different types of shops, a museum, accommodations, restaurants and bars.
Tours going north to the little village of La Flor start every morning from here. La Flor is where you will start your hike onto Volcán Concepción. Looking for a guide? You will usually find them on main street, at the port or in your hotel in Moyogalpa.
On the right hand side of the port you can go for a walk on a path along the shore. After about 2km just take a right turn cross country and head towards the main street connecting Moyogalpa with San Marcos. Another right turn there brings you back to town.
Bicycles and motorbikes, sometimes even cars, can be rented out in Moyogalpa in different places. Make sure operating conditions of your vehicle are well, because outside of Moyogalpa you won't find too much paved roads.
There are some places in town where you can go for a meal or some drinks. No matter if you eat meat or you're a vegetarian, you like pizza, hot dogs or fish recently caught in the lake, you'll find something to your taste.
There are about 10 transports daily in each direction between San Jorge and Moyogalpa. The first one starts on the island at 6am and the last one at 4pm. From San Jorge transportation starts at 7am and ends with the ferry at 5.30pm. Crossing the lake one way costs between $1.50 and $3 for pedestrians. If you want to take your car or truck, you should make a reservation in advance an confirm it the day you're travelling. In case you want to leave your car in San Jorge you can do that in the guarded car park in the port area.
Busses serving the southern route between Moyogalpa and Altagracia leave every hour and you can board them at the port or at the park. The route to the north heading to Altagracia over San Marcos isn't that stable but served several times per day. About 4 daily transports leave Moyogalpa towards Volcán Maderas. Be aware that this is a long trip, because all of the busses go to Altagracia first, turn around and then go over to Maderas on a bumpy dirt road. You're better off not to count on a timetable of public transport on sundays. |
Punta Jesús María
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The most attended beach south of Moyogalpa is la Punta Jesús María. Outlying about 4km from town, it can be reached by bicycles or a moto taxi. If you go by bus it is 1km to walk from the main street where you get dropped off. Depending on the season and waterlevel this spit can have a length from 30m up to 300m at the end of the rainy season. Drinks and some food can be orderd at a little kiosk which is right before La Punta. On weekdays its comparatively quiet, while on weekends it's a popular place by the locals. If you like to take a bath we recommend jumping in on the right hand side of the spit because on the left side there is more current. You shouldn't miss a sunset on La Punta.
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San José del Sur
San José del Sur offers a nice beach which is relatively good protected from winds through Volcán Concepción. There are two bigger hotels with restaurants and a little port here, which also provides transports to and from San Jorge. The ferry leaves at 7.30am and 3.30pm from here. From San Jorge it is setting off at 9.30am and 5pm. Passage is at around $2.50.
Altagracia
Altagracia is the adminstrative town for the second district on Ometepe Island and has an estimated 7000 inhabitants. In Altagracia are a few smaller hotels and restaurants, a museum and another port. There are hardly any tourist attractions in town. The port of Altagracia connects Ometepe with Granada on the northern shore and with San Carlos on the southern shore of Lake Nicaragua. The ship coming from Granada arrives at the island monday and thursday evening, before it starts its 10 hour trip to San Carlos at the mouth of Río San Juan. On the way back it stops at the port of Altagracia tuesday and friday around midnight, to dock later at around 5am at its destination, Granada. If to heavy winds occure the ferry doesn't go to Ometepe and ships along the other coastline of the lake to avoid rough sea.
Busses to Moyogalpa leave every hour from the park and about 4 times to Volcán Maderas. If you're lucky you can catch a minibus which serves the route to the other side. This busses don't have a time table and are usually more expensive than the regular ones.
Isthmus
Tilgüe
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A few hundred meters behind Tilgüe in direction of Playa Santo Domingo take a right turn and follow the sign to La Presa, Ojo de Agua. There is another entrance further down the road to the beach, which is closer coming from the other direction. Since it was a muddy waterhole years ago, there are two big pools today which are fed with cold and clear water from a nearby fountain. This place is perfect to hang out chilling in the shade all day long and jump into the water every once and a while. Cold drinks and meals can be ordered. The entrance fee is $2, but it doubles each year.
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Playa Santo Domingo
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Playa Santo Domingo is the most famous beach on Ometepe. Compared with other beaches on the island the sand is pretty light and finer than in other places, but the wind makes swimming kind of bumpy. This beach is about 2km long and on its northern end is the biggest array of hotels and restaurants on Ometpe in a row. A little canope, a nice arranged path through the woods and a tourist information can be found here. On the Rio Istiam you can hire kayaks and do some paddling. Due to the fact that there's not much infrastructure like in Moyogalpa or Altagracia you're depending on the hotels and restaurants around here.
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Volcán Maderas
Santa Cruz
On the southern end of Playa Santo Domingo you reach Santa Cruz where the roads splits off to the east to Balgüe and to Mérida and San Ramón in the south. There are some small hotels, offering accomodation, and restaurants in Santa Cruz.
Balgüe
Balgüe is a sleepy little village. There are some budget accommodations, but also, more up hill, some lofty style cabanas with great view over the isthmus and Volcán Concepción. From Finca Magdalena starts a path through there plantations up to the lagoon in the crater of Volcán Maderas. Usually on this side of the mountain hiking tours start from here.
On the way between Santa Cruz and Balgüe are some more places which offer rooms. You'll gonna notice them by their signs. In this part of the island there are still different places where to find petroglyphs.
Mérida and San Ramón
Heading from Santa Cruz over to San Ramón, passing Mérida, you'll gonna find more places where to stay for a few days. In general you can do volcano tours onto Maderas, take a walk in nature or explore the coastline while doing a paddling tour on the lake.
In San Ramón is the entrance to the waterfall. From there its a walk uphill of about 1 ½ hours. You can cover certain distance with a car or a motor bike. It's a nice walk but you should keep in mind that the waterfall is a kind of needy in the summer.
Ometepe Details
Ometepe is a excellent place to do hikes or go for a swim and hang out on the beach. If you decide to climb up onto one of the volcanos you shouldn't cut down on a guide. A professional guide may, beside of security reasons, give you useful information about plants and animals you find on your way.
We recommend strong boots and some long-sleeved top like a windbreaker for your hike. On Concepción it can get really blowy over 1100m and, getting closer to the crater, temperatures go down on both of the volcanos. Keep in mind that Concepción is an activ volcano and on some days it is very smokey and smelly of sulfur at the crater. But if you get a day without clouds you won't forget the view from up there. To scale up onto Concepción you need about 10 hours up and down, for Maderas about 7 hours.
In general you should bring cash to Ometepe. In certain places credit cards are accepted, but normally it's still difficult. The only ATM on the Island is in Moyogalpa and only accepts Visa. Moyogalpa is the only place with a bank as well. Normally you can pay anywhere with Córdobas and US $, Euros are not accepted.
If you visit Ometepe during christmas time or in the easter week (semana santa) you should make a reservation for your accomodation because there's a lot of touristic movement on the island in these days and there is a great chance hotels are booked out already when you arrive.
In case you take your vehicle to Ometepe you should do a reservation on the ferry, too. Confirm the day you're travelling to avoid inconviniences. If you want to leave your car on the main land you can use the secured car park in San Jorges' port area.
Apart from the regular busses there are a lot of minibusses for your transportation on Ometepe. For a ride from Moyogalpa to Santo Domingo count with a $20 to $25. In and around Moyogalpa are cruising Mototaxis, for local transport. Usually they can be found at the dock.
Wikipedia about Ometepe Island
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