#1 Cutirre Farm, outside of Granada, has more to offer the adventurous and inquisitive traveler than many places twice its size. Cutirre is a working coffee farm perched high on the slopes of the Mombacho Volcano, where visitors can spend multiple days exploring all the alternatives that the farm has to offer.

For those wishing to enjoy nature from an aerial perspective, there's the Mombotour Canopy Tour. High in the treetops above the deep green of coffee plants, canopy tourists can have a bird's eye view of the huge ciebas, mountain cedars, and guyabones trees that make up the shade for the plantation below.

After receiving an in-depth explanation of the safe handling of the equipment and being fitted with the highest quality harness by an experienced guide, the adventure will begin with a hike through the finca to the site of the first platform. Visitors and guides climb high into the treetop on a sturdy ladder, where the guide will again check the equipment, before preparing each person for the next step-which includes stepping off into space to glide silently across the forest canopy to the next platform! The bromeliad-laden trees are a sight to behold as one experiences the rare opportunity of seeing the world as the monkeys and birds do.

The farm also offers a series of other wonderful activities, including guided bird watching tours, a hands-on tour of the coffee farm, horseback riding, and coming soon, an orchid, butterfly and hummingbird garden. Visitors can also enjoy either a cold drink, or of course, coffee, at the informative Visitors Center, while learning more about the creatures that share this tropical part of the world. Various packages are available that link the 6 activities that Cutirre Farm has to offer, and visitors are sure to come away feeling as though they've had experiences of a lifetime at day's completion!

#2 City tour of Granada. Located 45 km by road from Managua, Granada lies on the shores of seemingly boundless Lake Nicaragua. Granada is a richly historical city, having survived multiple attacks by British and French pirates, and even its partial destruction by the fires of William Walker. Despite the turbulent history of the past centuries, many beautiful buildings and churches remain in the colonial city, and visitors can enjoy their old-world charm during a tour of the cobbled streets on a horse-drawn carriage.

#3 Water tours of Las Isletas de Granada. Close to the shores of Granada, the expansive waters of Lake Nicaragua are filled with hundreds of lava isletas, which are important nesting and roosting sites for thousands of cormorants and other water birds that live on the lake. Mombotour offers guided sea kayak tours through these isletas for an incomparable bird watching experience. If the birds weren't enough, an excursion on the water also provides breathtaking views of Mombacho Volcano presiding along the coast, as well as the impressive site of Ometepe, where two volcanoes rise grandly out of the water.

#4 In addition to the exciting options offered at Cutirre Farm, the peaks of Mombacho Volcano also offers extraordinary hiking and breathtaking views of Lake Nicaragua. The west side of Mombacho, accessible by car via El Progresso Farm, offers a protected Natural Reserve that contains an exceptional system of well-designed and maintained trails that lead visitors through a hanging garden of trees and vines, windswept, almost alpine, plains containing steaming, sulfurous fumaroles, as well as a series of look-out points into the now tree-filled crater and over the lake and the city of Granada far below. The folks at Mombotour can arrange visits to this not-to-be-missed park.

#5: Masaya Volcano National Park was the first area of the country to receive that status, and this 54 square kilometer area is well worth a visit. After orienting themselves at the well laid-out and educational visitors center, people can spend hours or even days exploring the park, with a five-cratered volcano at its center. Crater Santiago is the only crater in the Central American isthmus where molten lava can be viewed, although currently the lookout point that allows this vista is closed. Nonetheless, a large variety of volcanic features abound to be explored, including bat-filled lava tube caves where archaeologists have discovered skeletons from seemingly pre-Colombian sacrifices. The landscape is varied, as the lava flows exhibit a range of growth, from desert-like vistas to forested areas. The entrance to the park is well-marked, and it's open from 8-4:30 daily.

#6 For visitors who are interested in bringing home more than experiences and coffee, the town of Masaya contains markets of "Artesanias"-or locally handcrafted items, ranging from hammocks to rocking chairs to items crafted from clay, stone, glass and pewter, among other things.

#7 The largest island in Lake Nicaragua, Ometepe is made up of the two volcanoes Concepcion and Madera, and the bridge of lava that connects them. Famous for its many indigenous artifacts, in addition to its population of birds and howler monkeys, the island can be reached by launch from Granada, and a range of accommodations are available for those visitors who wish to stay the night.

#8 One of the jewels of Nicaragua's Pacific Coast is San Juan del Sur. The picturesque town is set on a beautiful bay of white sand, and the beaches extend northward in varying degrees of sand and rocky coastline. Olive Ridley and Pacific Green Sea Turtles can be spotted throughout the year on nearby beaches.

#9: Located 20 kilometers to the south of San Juan del Sur, La Flor Wildlife Refuge is another coastal excursion that visitors should put on their itinerary. This protected area is one of the most important sites in the world for marine conservation efforts, and Olive Ridley and Leatherback turtles return safely between September and April. Night tours are available to experience the breathtaking sight of sea turtles emerging from the waves in order to lay their eggs.

#10: Founded in 1524, the colonial city of Leon has a long history of rivalry with the more prosperous Granada. Despite this rivalry, Leon is the site of Central America's largest cathedral, and the city's traditional charm is unmatched in the country. The city's present site was chosen after a devastating eruption of Momotombo Volcano in 1609, and Leon Viejo-or Old Leon is currently being excavated. In 1992 Cerro Negro Volcano buried Leon in ash and sand, and a visit to this reserve is likened to a visit to the moon.