Santa Lucía

The town of Santa Lucía was created in 1904 by the decree of president José Santos Zelaya in an effort to concentrate the dispersed and poorly administrated farming communities of the hillsides north of Boaco. Its well-planned and organized beginning boded well for Santa Lucía, which, a century later, remains a picturesque and enchanting mountain village in a valley ringed with green mountains.

  Santa Lucía itself doesn’t have hotel rooms or fancy restaurants. Nevertheless, travelers should consider a trip to Santa Lucía for three reasons: the beautiful scenery around Cerro Santo Domingo, the long rocky precipice of Peña La Brada, and the indigenous artifacts along the road. Various petroglyphs and other remnants of past cultures are untouched in the wilds around Santa Lucía, including some just 20 meters off the highway: Keep your eyes peeled. Adventurers looking for a challenge should peruse the valley of the Río Fonseca for an archeological wonder called Las Máscaras. Those hillsides north of Boaco also cradle the Paso Las Lajas, whose petroglyphs show indigenous peoples sitting with the Spanish and their dogs. These carvings were seen several times earlier in the century, but were subsequently lost and passed into the lore of the people of Boaco. Sharpen your machete; they’re waiting to be rediscovered.

  Two additional hikes in the Santa Lucía area include a gorgeous waterfall, called the Salto de los Americas. To get to the waterfall, either ask your bus driver to let you off near it as you travel between Boaco and Santa Lucía, or from Santa Lucía, hike five kilometers (one hour) back down the road south toward Boaco. Look for a gancho opening (a V-shaped tree branch through which you can step to avoid the barbed wire) in the wooden fence on the east (left-hand) side. Go through the fence and down the hill to the Río Fonseca. Hike up the river five minutes to a seven-meter waterfall. The pool beneath the falls is deep enough to swan dive off the top, and you can crawl to the cave behind it. There are also several families of monkeys that live in the area.

  To get to Peña La Brada, hike up the road past the Instituto out of town for an hour along the steep path that leads to the top of the ridge. When you get to the road, walk to your right along it until you reach a little wood shack; just past the shack is a small trail that leads away from the road. Follow it through the forest and across the fields until you reach a big open pasture with a big farmhouse (as a courtesy, you should introduce yourself before proceeding). The residents will tell you how to find the cliff from there. It’s a simple matter of crossing several barbed-wire fences to get to the cliff edge, where the view from the top will thrill you. In addition to a panoramic view of Boaco, you’ll be able to see all the way out to the highway and the mountains that rise on its south side.

  On the direct road from the highway to Santa Lucía (not the road that leads from Boaco), keep your eyes peeled for La Roca del Tigre, a rock emblazoned with a petroglyph of a tiger, located practically at roadside.

  For any hikes in the Santa Lucía area, Osmin is the right gentleman to ask to accompany you. He can be found in the ENITEL office, where he works—he’s a fun tour guide and trip leader for expeditions into the wild hillsides.

  Technically, there are no lodging establishments in Santa Lucía, but should you find yourself stuck there, the Comedor Santa Lucía will put you up and feed you. More good food can be found in the comedor in the park, which specializes in grilled meat. A direct bus leaves from Managua for Santa Lucía at 10:30 a.m. ($1.50), bypassing Boaco entirely. The same bus leaves Santa Lucía for Managua at 4 a.m. and 5 a.m.