Altitude: 440 meters
Population: 23,010 (11,758 urban)
From the place the Náhuatl dubbed “valley of warriors” arose the nation’s most famous fighter, General Agusto César Sandino, and the city celebrates it’s favorite son with a giant statue near the highway. The only other Sandino tribute is a small museum space in the back of the local library with old newspaper articles and old photos reproduced poster-sized. A picture of Sandino’s parents holding hands is heartbreaking once you read the caption: it was taken in 1934, shortly after their sons were killed.
Stepping out of the library, you may notice that Niquinohomo is built on a series of levels, like a city-wide wedding cake. A climb up multi-colored stairs will bring you to the central square, with the Parroquia de Nuestra Señora Santa Anna on a tier above that. A huge, cement cross was added to the church grounds in honor of the millennium and, two years later, the church was declared a national cultural site.
City officials were still working on their latest project – a local Mercado Artesania – in spring 2009, with a grand opening planned for the summer. The two story market, located on the north side of the church, will have space for 27 stalls, two restaurants, a clothing shop and a stage for events.
On the opposite side of the church, the Estancia Bosquesillo (Mains: C$40 to C$160, 505-2-558-0463, open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily) serves up comida corriente on a pleasant, vine-hung patio.
There are no guesthouses in town, but there is a local internet spot, Cyber Cristina, which is strangly combined with the local pharmacy. You’ll have to walk past counters stocked with baby wipes, pulmo grip and Pepto-Bismol, to get to the large room of new computers. Access costs C$13 per hour and the cyber (505-8-498-8320) is open from Monday to Saturday, 8 to noon and 2:30 to 9 p.m., or Sunday, 9 to noon and 4 to 9 p.m.