Nicaragua’s oldest city was founded in 1524 by Spanish explorer Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba. Like Managua, it is also located on the shore of a lake and near a volcano. It is the country’s second largest city and an important commercial area. Granada’s volcano has left the area around the town fertile, and coffee and sugarcane are two important crops grown there.

There are a hundred or so tiny islands east of Granada in Lake Nicaragua. These isletas are set to have been created when Granada’s volcano erupted, blowing its lake-facing side into the water. The islands are linked by motorboat taxis, and wealthy Nicaraguans have built cottages there for weekend retreats.