Convent, volcano
and islets

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• Churches and historic centre

  Twelve places in Granada’s historic centre and around it. According to INTUR, Central Park, also called Parque Colón, has been Granada’s civic and social heart since the city was founded in 1524; the Cathedral faces it, and Calle La Calzada, along which the city’s nightlife is concentrated mainly, runs from Plaza de la Independencia down to the lake. The churches: La Merced, west of Central Park, with panoramic city views from its tower according to INTUR; Xalteva, on Calle Real, built in colonial times on the indigenous settlement of the same name according to INTUR; Guadalupe, on Calle La Calzada, towards the lake; and María Auxiliadora, neo-Gothic, at the end of Calle Real de Xalteva, whose tower you can climb after paying at the church entrance, according to the National Tourism Map (2024), which does not give the amount. To the west, the 18th-century La Pólvora Fortress; to the south-west, the cemetery, founded in 1830, with the Capilla de Ánimas; south of Central Park, the municipal market; and also Mi Museo, with pre-Columbian pottery, and the Sor María Romero Birthplace, which according to the INC displays personal belongings of hers. All twelve have unconfirmed status: the hours of Mi Museo and of the Birthplace are only published in the INC directory, and those of the others are unconfirmed.

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• Islands and lake

  Three places on the shore of Lake Cocibolca and on the lake. According to INTUR, the Tourist Centre is a strip along the shore with green areas, bars and restaurants and Granada’s traditional pier; boats to the islets leave from here, and INTUR names the Tourist Centre pier (Los Chilamates area), the Cabaña Amarilla pier and the Asese port. Among the islets, on El Castillo island, stands San Pablo Fortress, a small military fort visited on boat trips around the islets; INTUR’s pages disagree on its date (1783–1785 or 1670). South of Granada, Zapatera Archipelago National Park, created in 1983, has archaeological sites according to the INC, including 14 replicas of the idols whose originals are kept at the San Francisco Convent; from the Asese port the boat takes about 60 minutes, according to MARENA’s management plan (2016), and according to the INC all trips require prior arrangement. All three have unconfirmed status: boat trips are offered by operators, and their conditions, a separate fee for San Pablo and the fee for Zapatera are unconfirmed.

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• Diriá and Diriomo

  A lookout in the municipality of Diriá and the town of Diriomo. According to INTUR, El Boquete Lookout, on a hilltop, offers views of Granada, Mombacho volcano, Laguna de Apoyo and the Tisma wetlands; along the way there are pottery, furniture and woodcraft workshops, and in town, the 18th-century parish church of San Pedro Apóstol. Diriomo, between Mombacho volcano and Laguna de Apoyo, is what INTUR calls «the temple of sweets» for its cajetas: it has the Casa Museo de las Cajetas, founded in 1908, and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Candelaria, declared a historic monument in 1956, and according to INTUR the Virgin of Candelaria festivities run from 21 January to 10 February, with the main day on 2 February. Both have unconfirmed status: the lookout’s hours and whether there is an entry charge, and the hours of the Casa de las Cajetas, the sanctuary and the workshops, are unconfirmed.

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