Bluefields - Nicaragua

Dancer in
Bluefields
Atlantic Coast

Named for the Dutch pirate Henry Bluefeldt who hid out here in the early 1600s, Bluefields is located at the mouth of Rio Escondido where it joins the murky Bluefields Bay on Nicaragua's eastern shore.

Bluefields is the capital of Nicaragua's Atlantic south independent province, its population is about 50,000 people. This protected harbor site inside Bluefields lagoon at th mouth of Escondido River. Bluefields is the ideal point of departure to visit Monkey point, Pearl Lagoon, Corn Islands and many other interesting parks and nature reserves, an ideal destination for the nature lover

If you dont want to fly to Bluefields or have enougth time, you go by bus to El Rama; you catch the bus in Managua at the Mayorero bus station. The bus can go no further because this is where the road ends and the marsh begins. From El Rama you must take a small boat that goes down the Escondido River to Bluefields. The complete trip takes about 6 hours by bus and another hour and a half by boat. Total cost is about $15 one way.

Unfortunately, the beginning of the trip shows the ill effects deforestation. However, the farther you travel from El Rama the more dense the vegetation becomes. As you come to the end of the trip the Sierve river joins the Escondido river which borders the Cerro Silva nature reserve. The Escondido river flows in to the Smonkey lagoon which is on the north side of the Bluefields bay. Traveling through the lagoon is a fantastic, must do, experience.

Managua - Bluefields 178 miles (315 km).