Nicaragua Leon
Nicaragua’s second city and intellectual capital is brimful with red-tiled colonial-style buildings and effervesces with artistic and political energy.
Overview
León has spirit and is a fascinating place to wander and absorb Nicaragua’s colonial and revolutionary history. Like Granada, the core of Nicaragua’s second city and intellectual capital is brimful with red-tiled colonial-style buildings but, unlike its peaceful rival, effervesces with artistic and political energy. A city with a strong religious tradition, it hosts a dozen crumbly churches juxtaposed with murals depicting events from the 1979 revolution. The city’s university and student scene lends it a youthful feel.
50km beyond the city are the sedate World Heritage ruins of León Viejo, the original site for León, and Nicaragua’s capital until an earthquake hit in 1609. Meanwhile, thrill-seekers can tackle the stark slopes of Cerro Negro volcano, with the option to ‘ash-board’ back down.
Holidays Leon
From expertly designed Private Journeys to trail-blazing Group Tours, browse our range of carefully crafted holidays.
Classic holidays
Group - Discovery
Panama / Costa Rica / Nicaragua / El Salvador / Honduras / Guatemala
Alcion: Central America Discovery
22 days from £3,144pp
Group - Discovery
Nicaragua
Cotinga: Off the beaten track Nicaragua
18 days from £3,004pp
Private Journeys
Nicaragua
Self-drive Nicaragua: Adventures by road
11 days from £1,550pp
Classic holidays
Private Journeys
Nicaragua
Signature Nicaragua: Fire, water and revolution
10 days from £2,210pp
Things to do
We proudly offer the widest range of activities, excursions and one-of-a-kind experiences across all our destinations, tried and tested personally by our travel experts.
Accommodation
Browse our unrivalled portfolio of accommodation . Every option has been carefully chosen by our team of travel experts, so you can rest assured that you’ll relax in utter comfort.
Where to go when - our guide to Leon
The weather in Leon is wide and varied
Nicaragua’s second city is characterised by it’s red-tiled colonial-style buildings and it’s artistic and political energy and is mainly frequented by locals and students of the university. Awash in revolutionary history, the people are extremely friendly and a lively nightlife scene.
View our Leon weather guidePapagaio
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Chris Rendell-Dunn - Travel Expert
Anglo-Peruvian Chris grew up in Lima and spent much of his adult life in between London and Cusco as a tour leader, before settling permanently in our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours sales team.
Ben Line - Travel Expert
Ben fell in love with Latin America on a six month backpacking trip from Colombia to Mexico in 1995. Since then he has explored most of South America, including living in Peru for a year. He is now Head of Sales.
Millie Davies - Travel Expert
Having caught the travel bug as a child, Millie has travelled all over Latin America before making her home in Buenos Aires for 3 years.
Sophie Barber - Travel Expert
Sophie lived in Chile before joining us and has travelled extensively across Latin America, from Mexico to the furthest tip of Patagonia and beyond to Antarctica.
Kathryn Rhodes - Travel Expert
Kathryn backpacked across Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru before joining us. She has a degree in Philosophy and French and is a keen netball player.
Carrie Gallagher - Travel Expert
A former JLA tour leader, Carrie brings a wealth of on-the-ground experience to our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours department.
