Central America's oldest colonial city — lake islands, horsecarts, and a volcano to climb
Granada is one of the oldest colonial cities in mainland Latin America (founded 1524) — a vivid grid of ochre, cobalt, and terracotta Spanish colonial facades around the Central Park and the Cathedral. Lake Nicaragua (Cocibolca, the world's 19th largest lake) laps the city's edge; boat trips to the volcanic Isletas (tiny jungle islands formed when Mombacho Volcano erupted) and kayaking through them is the city's signature experience. The Mombacho Volcano Reserve above the city has cloud forest with howler monkeys; a horse-cart ride through the city at dusk costs a few dollars.
Granada was founded by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba on the shores of Lake Nicaragua in 1524 — the same year León was founded, beginning the rivalry between liberal (León) and conservative (Granada) that defined Nicaraguan politics for the next 400 years. The city was repeatedly attacked and burned by William Walker, the American filibuster who briefly declared himself president of Nicaragua in 1856 — his departing forces burned much of Granada (hence the phrase 'Here Was Granada' carved into a post in the ruins). The current colonial architecture largely dates to the 19th-century reconstruc…