With some awesome day trip options available in the surrounding area, renting a car makes sense. Without one, it wouldn’t be half as easy to explore all that Matagalpa, 18 miles away, has to offer. Among your first few stops here should be Cerro Apante Natural Reserve, El Castillo del Cacao Museum and Parque Morazan. Locals will also likely point you toward San Rafael del Norte, 45 miles away. If you only see one thing here, make sure it’s Santuario Cerro Tepeyac. (But we’re also huge fans of San Rafael Arcangel Parish and El Jaguar.)