With our basecamp in Matagalpa, today we’ve decided to go visit the Selva Negra and Jinotega. The bus from Matagalpa to Selva Negra (13C and 30min ride) drop us off at the official entrance of the Reserva Natural Selva Negra on the main road but from there we still have to walk a 15min more to reach the proper entrance. Strangely enough, in this reserve you have two options of entrance ticket: (A) you can pay 100C per person just to access or (B) you can pay 200C per person but that entire amount will also be converted into a voucher you can use at the restaurant on-site.
The reserve offers a great variety of trails starting from short easy ones to half-day treks to the top of the peaks. At the small info point inside the restaurant you’ll be given a free map to guide yourself around but at the end of the day there are signs everywhere, so getting lost is very tough! Supposedly, there are many species of animals to see around the reserve (quetzales, howler monkeys, loads of birds etc…) but as soon as we start walking, a small rain starts coming down. Not off to a great start!
By the end of the walk our only wildlife are a couple of monkeys so far up in the trees that literally looked like two black dots in the distance. We do see some birds but definitely nothing like we’d have expected from a “Reserve”, it felt more like having a walk through a mix of plantations and jungle. Once back at the starting point, we agree that the hike is nice way to spend an afternoon in the jungle, enjoy some wildlife by the artificial lake or just sit down and chill along one of the easy treks.
After 4h exploring the Selva Negra Reserve, we head back to the main highway to wait for the bus that’s gonna give us a ride to Jinotega (20C). In just over 45min, the bus drop us off at the Jinotega bus station which is thankfully only a couple of minutes walking away from the center. Immediately, we notice that Jinotega is a little town settled in the middle of a valley completely surrounded by mountains. Walking around the central park (Parque Carlos Fonseca Amador), the Catedral San Juan Bautista and the little cute streets its a pleasure thanks to the perfect fresh temperature. QUICK TIP: Did you know that there are sloths in the park of Jinotega?! Just ask the locals and they’ll tell you in which tree they’ve seen them today!
We have lunch at one of the several comedores around the main park and end up chit chatting with a couple of locals that suggest us to climb the mirador del Cerro de la Cruz for the best views over the city. The walk there seems short bu intense (45min uphill, passing through the municipal cemetery) but today we haven’t got time: later we’re heading back to Matagalpa! To finish the day in the funniest possible way, the bus that we jump on has the same driver that befriended on the way here! What a chance!!!
All in all it was a full but very enjoyable day!
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