Volcano Boarding in Nicaragua

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Volcano boarding? Never heard of it yet had to try it.

Researching León, Nicaragua, I came across ‘volcano boarding’ on Cerro Negro. Several tour operators run these jaunts, Moon Travel Guides has a list of several, from which I contacted a few and Julio of Julio Tours stood out for his responsiveness and flexibility in building a custom tour to accommodate my end-of-day timing.

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Panama Costa Rica Nicaragua 173

Cerro Negro is a hour journey from León along a very bumpy, unpaved road that requires 4WD. Julio Tours had a comfortable 4WD vehicle; another operator I saw had a backpacker tour with an open back truck with benches that held over a dozen merry, jostled travelers.

The hike up Cerro Negro takes 30-60 minutes and is medium strenuous. You need to carry your own board, which is easy when slid behind shoulder straps of a backpack. The volcano still bubbles underneath, dig a few inches in the sandy, black gravel and you can cook an egg.

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Panama Costa Rica Nicaragua 186

Peering down from the top the volcano is steep. So steep that it was the stage for the world bicycle speed record by Frenchman Éric Barone in 2001, his second run then nearly killing him. See him back in 2009:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4_xlFtcPLk

The challenge for the boarding, though, is how to go fast and not get stuck. The key is too keep the board front pulled up and lean back. I did not have the greatest success, getting stuck in the middle, then getting the hang of it. Regardless of performance, by the bottom you are covered in soot.

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Panama Costa Rica Nicaragua 204

Though the slide down was anticlimactic, the hike and anticipation, plus the views, were great.

[flickr video=http://www.flickr.com/photos/rapidtravelchai/8245360955/]

And watch the guides go ‘volcano running’ down.

[flickr video=http://www.flickr.com/photos/rapidtravelchai/8245360701/]

There are numerous other volcanoes in the region for hikes of one to many days.

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[…] on chicken buses, and staying in super cheap rooms.  With the exception of a few activities (volcano boarding comes to mind), I expect my expenses to come in at about […]

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[…] and stands out for its many volcanoes and variously dangerous associated tourist activities, like volcano boarding and strolling into active […]

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[…] much exasperation I can take, though, so after the first day, the solution I hit upon was hiring my volcano boarding guide, Oscar, to be my navigator for a day. He is a university student and freelance guide in […]

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[…] This well was on the roadside on the way to Cerro Negro, Nicaragua for volcano boarding. […]

Nick
11 years ago

That looks like fun! Great post, and thanks for bringing this sport to my attention.

guera
guera
11 years ago

This looks like great fun. Descending volcanoes us usually a dusty business anyway–even if you walk down you are covered in soot. Crazy video of the Frenchman! He would have been fine if his bicycle didn’t actually fall apart.