Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua's "Oasis of Peace," rises from the waters of Lake Cocibolca in the form of two lush, magical volcanic cones. If this breathtaking volcanic island draws your attention, you're not the first: the Nahuatl people made it the cultural center of their Nicaraguan home centuries before the Spaniards arrived. An intensely volcanic island still steeped in tradition and mystery, Ometepe is the ancestral home of the Nahuatl people and the birthplace of modern Nicaragua. Retaining much of its original forest, Ometepe represents what Nicaragua may have been like in 1522 when Gil González Dávila first set eyes on it: broadleaf trees, clean lake water, and fresh air, all under the towering presence of Concepción and Maderas, two immense volcanoes that make up the bulk of the island.

Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast is a one hour flight from Managua, but culturally worlds away from anything else in the country. The salt-and-sugar white sand beaches and turqouise waters are exactly as you'd expect them, but the mixed Caribbean culture is uniquely Nicaraguan. The two undisputed jewels of Nicaragua's Atlantic coast are Corn Island and Little Corn Island, offering sun, sand, palm trees, and simple living.

As both the first town that Spain's conquistadores established in Central America and the epicenter of Nicaragua's current tourism boom, Granada is a brightly painted city of extremes: old yet new, relaxed yet active, exotic yet comfortable. Nowhere else in Nicaragua will you find the colonial architecture, community spirit, and breathtaking landscape that Granada offers to both the casual and extended visitor. Granada is at once both the oldest city on the continent and the most developed tourist destination in Nicaragua. Some consider this "colonial jewel" to be the future of Nicaraguan tourism.