Hotel Campestre El Pantano

Overview

Description

Hotel El Pantano is the only business in Jalapa that offers lodging, food, business services, wireless Internet, tours, and excursions, all in one place.

We are located on six acres of gardens and lawns at the edge of the urban center, offering you a mountain climate and opportunities to visit nearby areas, including:

• Cerro de Jesús farm: This farm is on Jalapa’s highest mountain and it produces the fourth best coffee in the world; it has a natural cloud forest climate.
• Ecological farms: The most popular farms are La Reforma and Sonzapote in the El Limón Valley. Here you will find pools, trails, lookout points, pine and broadleaf forests/plantations, hot springs, and cabins.

There are also trails in the region that can be hiked with specialized guides, passing several farms where you can see a diversity of orchids and fungi; also, excursions can be arranged to many rivers and waterfalls and broadleaf and pine forests. Medicinal hot springs. There are opportunities to learn about crops such as tobacco, coffee, and basic grains. The area has a rich culture with music, local dances, and typical foods; an annual, national Maize Fair is held.

There are many opportunities to go on hikes, horseback rides, and bicycle in the Jalapa Valley and nearby mountains.

Rooms

8

Making a Difference

Number of employees: 7

Percentage of local employees: 100 %.

The hotel was built in a six-acre area at the edge of the urban center that was reforested with native trees. We try to hire our employees locally and we try to buy most of the products for our restaurant locally to benefit the local economy. We have created a program to help farming families by advising and assisting handicrafters and families in promoting and marketing their non-traditional products. In our business we now sell pine crafts, wooden toys, organic coffee, and hibiscus.

We help the farming families with training, assessments, farm improvement plans, promotion, and marketing; we try to include tourism activities and services on their farms to diversify and improve income while promoting sustainable management. We participate actively in the Jalapa Municipal Tourism Chamber (the owner served as president for five years) and the Tourism Chamber (member of the Board of Directors for four years).

We have created three tourism routes with approximately 18 destinations. We support the rescue and promotion of the municipality’s culture and cultural heritage by promoting local groups of musicians, artists, and keeping inventories of sites of historic interest.

The property owner is one of the founders of the Cooperative for the Development of Rural Tourism in Las Segovias (www.coodetur.org).

Hotel El Pantano is the creator, designer, and operator of a digital platform for Rural Tourism in Nicaragua (www.vivanica.ning.com).

Rates

$25 or less

Children 8 years old and younger stay in their parents’ room for free.

There are discounts for longer stays and/or groups.

We can organize tour guides and local transportation (with prior notice).

For more information about rates, please visit:

• www.hotelelpantano.com/es_reservar_hotel_inicio.html (available in English, Spanish and more).

Getting There

Nearest international airport: Managua (MGA)

Distance, by land, to the nearest airport: 187 miles.

Hotel El Pantano is accessible year-round in standard vehicles. There are also direct express buses from Managua, Estelí, and Ocotal to Jalapa.

Additional Information

Photo descriptions:

• Photo of our restaurant and its terrace.
• Photo of one of the three kiosks in our restaurant for small or family groups.
• Photo of a guest room.
• Photo of the El Pantano rooms from outside, showing the lawns and the mountains in the background.
• Photo of the El Pantano lawns.
• Photo of some of the animals we keep at El Pantano.

Date This Information Was Provided

December 2009.

Photo courtesy of Hotel Campestre El Pantano, Nicaragua, for SustainableTrip.org.