Matagalpa

The department of Matagalpa is the most mountainous region in Nicaragua and the cool, central highland with blue-green hills and forest streams is called the country of caves, legends and myths. The area has a long history of violence and was formerly dominated by guerrilla armies. The war is over and the peace brought back to the region but the inhabitants are marked by warfare, poverty and drought. The people live from cultivation of corn, beans, flowers and vegetables but the main source of income is coffee and during the coffee harvest the population increases with coffee pickers, packers and processors.

Matagalpa is also the name of the capital of the department, a city that sometimes is called "La Perla del Septention" (The Pearl of the North). The high altitude makes the air clean and the climate refreshing. Matagalpa is also one of few places in Nicaragua that still has a significant Nahuatl presence and there is for example a central office dedicated to help the indigenous community.