This is the Nicaragua chapter from Lonely Planet's Central America guidebook.

Nicaragua today represents booming beach breaks, volcano hiking, thrilling island paradises and laidback colonial towns. While the iconic images of idealistic young people giving their lives in the civil war have never quite disappeared, this is now the safest country in Central America, and a surprisingly easy place to travel around.

• scramble to the summits of the two volcanoes that join to make the majestic Isla de Ometepe
• snack on coconuts and swim crystal-clear waters in the Corn Islands, an unspoiled Caribbean getaway
• savor the delights of the cultured colonial towns of Granada and León
• maps
• transport
• restaurants & accommodations

Coverage includes: Managua & around, Lagunas de Xiloá & Apoyeque, Pochomil & Pacific Beaches, Northern Nicaragua, Matagalpa, Jinotega, Estelí, Reserva Natural Miraflor, Reserva Natural Cerro Tisey-Estanzuela, Somoto, León & Northwestern Nicaragua, Granada & the Masaya Region, Parque Nacional Volcán Masaya, Southwestern Nicaragua, Rivas, San Jorge, San Juan Del Sur & around, Isla de Ometepe, Moyogalpa, Altagracia, Charco Verde & Playa Venecia, Santo Domingo, Santa Cruz, Balgüe, Mérida & San Ramón, San Carlos & around, Archipiélago de Solentiname, Río San Juan, Caribbean Coast, Bluefields, Laguna de Perlas, Corn Islands, Bilwi (Puerto Cabezas) and Nicaragua Directory.