The first difficulty of this hike was finding a tent to rent in Leon. Amazingly enough, even though pretty much every tour company offers overnight camping tours on the Maribios Volcanoes Chain, only “Volcano Day” tour operator allows people not on a tour to rent a tent for one or a couple of days (we paid 13USD for a double).
The second difficulty was to find the right transport to drop us off at the entrance of the Cerro Negro so that later we could start our hike to El Hoyo. We tried asking around for how much would a taxi cover (unfortunately there are not public buses) but we were told that for less than 50USD it was a no-go. Unbelievably, “Volcano Day” was our saviour once again; in fact, for a lower (not essentially cheap) price (10USD each) they could have given us a ride up to the entrance of the visitor centre of Cerro Negro.
Today is the day. The plan for the first day is to (A) Climb the Cerro Negro and walk-run down by the sandy side (no sand boarding), then (B) Walk up to the camping area of El Hoyo and finally (C) Set the camp in El Hoyo. During our second day, we will (D) Walk to the Laguna Asososca and take a dip and eventually (E) Reach the highway to get the bus back to Leon. The length of the trail starting from the ascent to the Cerro Negro to the arrival at the highway is supposed to be 20km in total!
Unfortunately, the transport to the entrance of Cerro Negro is late and the result is us reaching the visitor center at around 10.30am. Thankfully, from the visitor center to the base of the volcano and then up to the top it takes us 1h30min altogether. The views from the top of the crater of Cerro Negro are breathtaking. The contrast between the gorgeous green landscape surrounding you in a 360° wonderland and the post-apocalyptic scenery made of black sand and scattered rocks is merely unique.
Path leading up at the base of Cerro Negro
Marta posing halfway through the path to the top
Us inside what used to be the old crater
On top of the current crater of Cerro Negro
Breathtaking views from the top
From the top of Cerro Negro you can do volcano boarding (10US/pp) if you’re an adrenaline junkie but ever tried just running down a volcano on the sand? That’s what we did!!! We were running down in the sand and every step we took was no less than 4-5m long. In less than 5min we were already back to the base of the volcano. So fast but so fun! And its free!
Last bit of the path to the top
Side of the Cerro Negro where sand-boarding can be done
View from the bottom, after “feet-boarding” our way down!
Anyway, back at the visitor center we decided to take a small lunch break before what everybody told us the hardest part of the hike: the 1h hike uphill to reach the plateau that connects the volcano Las Pilas to El Hoyo. Here is where you’re going to fully “enjoy” the weight of your backpack. In fact, the trail leading up is mostly made of sand, meaning every two steps forward is one back, and it doesn’t really become a proper path up until the last bit. Nevertheless, while hiking up this hellish trail the views you’ll be gifted with are well worth the exercise!
Super steep slope on the way to the plateau
A tired but happy Marta at the last lookout of Cerro Negro before the Plateau
As planned, more or less after 1h we reached some kind of hut which offers shade and its perfect for a nice break to have a bite, a sip and take the time to scream “We made it!”. The path from here leading up to the volcano El Hoyo is incredibly easy; for most of the 2h needed to reach El Hoyo the path takes very few turns, passes next to another volcano crater but all in all its essentially pretty flat (and easy to follow) from the beginning to the end.
The one-and-only break hut at the end of the slope
Views of another volcano of the Maribios chain
In the last bit of this second stretch, you’ll see that the path will start going up toward the side of the volcano and just after a small hill you’ll arrive at the volcano campsite. There are no sign signalling where the campsite is but apart from being pretty obvious since its the only flat area in the surroundings, you’ll see that someone have built a small hut where to lit up a fire at night. You cannot miss it! Also, if you’re using maps.me like we did, on the app the location of camping site is perfectly labeled.
Taking a last breath just before the camping ground…
…enjoying some great landscapes
Finally reaching El Hoyo & camping ground just below it
The views from the camping site are better than you could ever expect!
Views looking at El Hoyo…
…and at the other side
But if you really wanna make the most of the sunset, make sure to head up to the top of the volcano (follow the path that from the lowest part of the sinkhole goes right, passes next to some fumaroles and then heads straight) cause from there you’ll have the chance to see a 360° view of both what you walked so far and what have you got left to. The Cerro Negro, Volcano Las Pilas, Laguna Asososca, Cerro de Asososca and even the ocean! What an incredibly gorgeous sight!
Path to the top along the rim of El Hoyo
Us climbing up to the top
Rainbow, sunset and beautiful landscapes to enjoy just above the sinkhole
The group we ended up walking to the top altogether with
Sunset views from atop of the world
Hopefully you brought torches with you (or phones) cause after sunset the way down can be quite challenging without any light. Once we made back to camp, we lit up a fire together with other people we met on the way that were there on a paid tour and cooked our super tasty dinner!
QUICK TIP: head back to the viewing point next to camp and you’ll be able to enjoy clear skies and shiny stars as far as the eye can see!
The next day, we wake up at 5.30am for the sunrise but unfortunately some clouds built up overnight and its difficult to see through for more than a couple of seconds. Well back to the tent for some more relax!
Enjoying the first light
Quick landscape shot before clouds starts rolling in
After all the groups left, we decide to leave the camp at around 9am and follow the path that starts just from where the camping viewpoint is. Once you finish hiking down the side of El Hoyo the path becomes even easier to follow as its all straight until the Cerro Asososca. From El Hoyo to the base of the Cerro Asososca it took us 1h30min and this includes breaks to take photos or have a snack.
Looking backward at the Hoyo when nearly at the base of Cerro Asososca
After reaching the base of Cerro Asososca, it’s where the path will have to start having a couple of junctions that you really need to get right to avoid spending double the time walking around. Once arrived at the base, you’ll have the chance to turn left and turn right, here you’ll need to take a left and follow the eastern side of the volcano until you’ll reach another junction. At this other junction, you’ll notice (if you check the maps or look around) that you’ve essentially reached the ring path that is present all around the crater of the Laguna.
By turning left you’ll have to walk a long way to reach the main highway but if you turn right the path is much much shorter! In fact, after turning right you’ll have to walk for around another 15min before finding a very secluded and not-very-noticeable junction. Here you’ll have a road turning left and heading down (check maps and it will look like this one is heading down to the Laguna) and then a road on the right (the path that continues around the crater ring and ends up and the southern entrance of the Laguna). IMPORTANT: Take the path on the right and in 15-30min you’ll be enjoying a dip in the Laguna, otherwise it’ll take you 1h more.
The Laguna plus El Hoyo in the background!
We reached the shores of the Laguna at 12pm after a good 3h of relaxed hiking but surely this trail can be done in around 2h. At the Laguna we spent a couple of hours having a swim, relaxing and before we knew it was time to go if we wanted to get to the highway at a decent time. We left the Laguna at 2pm, took the path that lead to the entrance of the Laguna National Park and then started walking the dirt road that lead toward the highway. This last stretch of the hike took us just 30min and at the end a beautiful small comedor was awaiting to share its super tasty gastronomy with us. How couldn’t we say yes???
Lastly, at the highway we waited for one of the buses that passes hourly and goes to Leon. The price for the bus was 20C/pp and they dropped us off just a couple of blocks from our hostel! Perfect!!!!
TRAIL STATS
Loop hike of Cerro Negro —> 1h30min
Cerro Negro visitor center TO Volcano Las Pilas —> 1h
Volcano Las Pilas TO Camping El Hoyo —> 2h
Camping El Hoyo TO Top of El Hoyo —> 30min
Camping El Hoyo TO Cerro Asososca —> 1h30min
Cerro Asososca TO Laguna Shores —> 30min
Laguna Shores TO Highway —> 30min
Total of hours walked over two days: 7h30min
Total of km walked over two days: ≈ 20km
WHAT WAS IN OUR BACKPACK ?
Tent for two people
Two sleeping bags
8L of water per person
Several small packages of dried fruit
Pre-cooked meal of the day before
Six sandwiches with Avocado, Tomato & Tuna
Four bananas
A small pan
Toilet Paper
Reflex Cameras + lenses
Toothbrush & toothpaste
A new t-shirt for the next day
Swimming suit
Hand-lever rechargeable flashlight
Portable battery phone charger
Phone with maps.me installed
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PLANNING A TRIP TO NICARAGUA? CHECK MORE GUIDES BELOW!
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Interesting Post! thanks!