Twin volcanoes rising from a freshwater lake
Ometepe is formed by two volcanoes joined by a narrow isthmus in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, one of the largest lakes in the Americas. Concepción is a near-perfect active cone, and Maderas, extinct and draped in cloud forest, has a crater lake near its summit. Both are long, tough climbs with a guide. The island is quiet and rural, best explored by motorbike or bicycle, with ancient petroglyphs, the Ojo de Agua spring pools, the San Ramón waterfall and beaches of dark sand at Santo Domingo.