Nicaragua

The capital of Nicaragua is Managua.

Nicaragua is the ideal destination for the intrepid traveller.

Nicaragüenses (Nicaraguans) refer to themselves as "nicos".

World Records

The most painful insect sting is that of the bullet ant Paraponera clavata, native to Nicaragua.

Lake Nicaragua is the only lake in the world that has fresh-water sharks. 

Other Interesting Facts

Nicaragua is the largest of all the Central American countries.

Although Nicaragua's capital is Managua, the city of Granada is probably the most popular amongst tourists, and in fact is the oldest city on continental Latin America.

Lago Nicaragua (Lake Nicaragua) is the largest lake in Central America and has over 400 volcanic islands. The lake is 110 miles long and 36 miles wide.

Even though Lake Nicaragua is a freshwater lake, sharks, tarpon, and sawfish live in it. This is the only freshwater lake where bull sharks live and reproduce.

The island of Ometepe is a volcanic island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. Ometepe consists of 2 volcanoes--Concepción and Maderas--and the lava of previous eruptions. You can hike the volcanoes and enjoy beautiful view over the lake.

Lago de Managua (Lake Managua) is the second largest lake in Nicaragua. The lake is 40 miles long and 16 miles wide.

Nicaragua is suceptible to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. 

If you are a daring tourist, you can zipline in the could forests in Nicaragua, hike up the Mombacho Volcano, or go volcano boarding through the volcanic terrain. 

Nicaragua has a unique address system where streets have no names. If you ask for directions, they will tell you how to get to your destination based on reference points from where you start. No numbers and street names are used while giving such directions. If you are familiar with the language and landmarks, it is easy to navigate; but if you are a tourist, it is a difficult task and getting lost is easy. 

The national sport is baseball, which is even more popular than soccer. 

Cerro Negro (The Black Hill) is the youngest voclano in Central America. People around the world go Volcano-boarding in Cerro Negro. It takes about around an hour to hike up the hill and couple of minutes to run down the slope.

Nicaragua has 23 volcanoes, which 19 are active.

In 2020, American daredevil Nik Wallenda, pulled off a history-making 1,800 foot highwire walk accross the erupting Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua.   The stunt took him more than 30 minutes and was his "longest and highest highwire walk ever attempted."