Tiscapa Lagoon Natural Reserve
Tiscapa Lagoon Natural Reserve
Tiscapa Lagoon Natural Reserve – this site is located just south of Managua’s historic center. Leading up to the Lagoon is the Monumento Roosevelt (Roosevelt Monument). Another interesting monument is the statue of Sandino which is a statue of the silhouette of General Augusto C. Sandino, Nicaragua’s national hero and stands at 59 feet tall. The monument was proposed by Ernesto Cardenal and is protected by the Nicaraguan military. The Sandino monument was constructed on top of the wreckage of Somoza’s presidential mansion. Also on the crater lip of Tiscapa is the Las Masmorras, a prison in which Somoza tortured current President Daniel Ortega and many other political prisoners, however, this site is closed to the public.
The reserve is located within city limits of the capital, Managua, and is a popular tourist attraction. Restaurants and stores line the walls of the lagoon. Canopy rides provide a panoramic view of the old downtown where only a few buildings survived the 1972 earthquake that destroyed 90% of the capital city. However, many new buildings and shopping malls have been built since then throughout the city, due to the lack of a new center. Many pre-Columbian artifacts have been found in and around the lagoon and reserve.