But ask any local, and they’ll tell you that far from any imitation, Nicaragua is a unique natural playground with a history, culture and cuisine all of its own. Nothing attracts backpackers like a bargain, and intrepid adventure-seekers have secretly been flocking to mainland Latin America’s poorest country to surf San Juan del Sur’s blissfully uncrowded breaks, ‘board’ down an active volcano near León, and hike through the cloud forests of Isla de Ometepe, for years. But despite the added draws of Nicaragua’s quaint colonial (albeit bullet-holed) towns, riotous folkloric fiestas and enchantingly undeveloped Caribbean islands, the stigma of its war-torn past has traditionally kept the wider travel community at bay.
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