5 Essential Tips for Volcano Boarding in Nicaragua

Volcano boarding is an extreme sport that can only be done in a handful of places around the world. Nicaragua is the top destination in the world for this sport. Are you interested in trying this unique activity in Nicaragua? Keep reading for everything you need to know about volcano boarding in Nicaragua.

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<3 Dominique

What is volcano boarding?

Volcano boarding is an activity that entails sliding down the slopes of a volcano. This is done either on a sled or a board. Under the right conditions, it is possible to reach speeds over 100 kms/hour. Although it is relatively safe, volcano boarding can be considered an extreme sport as there are potential dangers associated with it.

These dangers include:

• falling on a gravel terrain
• sprains/broken bones
• breathing in poisonous gasses
• contacting molten lava

But with the proper precautions, all these dangers can be easily avoided.

Why go volcano boarding in Nicaragua?

There are only a handful of places in the world where volcano boarding can be practiced. Vanuatu, Indonesia, Italy, and Guatemala all have volcanoes suitable for the sport. However, Nicaragua is currently the top destination for volcano boarding in the world.

Cerro Negro (“black hill” in English) is the youngest volcano in Central America and is found in western Nicaragua. It formed in such a unique way that makes it ideal for volcano boarding. It is only 400 m/1,312 ft high and has a natural path that makes climbing it on foot relatively easy. I use the term “easy” loosely here as the hike to the top can take an average of 45 minutes to an hour. Once at the top, you will see the slope of the volcano that is too steep to climb and is purely made up of volcanic sand (i.e. no large rocks like on the other side that is climbable). While not climbable, it is the ideal condition for volcano boarding!

The top of Cerro Negro offers a breathtaking, 360-degree view of the lush scenery around Cerro Negro. Did I mention that Cerro Negro is an active volcano? Volcano boarding in Nicaragua enables you to say that you once slid down an active volcano!

Because of the boom in adventure tourism in the area, a community cooperative called Cooperativa Pilas-El Hoyo was formed to represent local residents. Entrance fees to Cerro Negro are charged by Cooperativa Pilas-El Hoyo. Money received by the cooperative is reinvested in local schools, potable water deliveries, small-scale infrastructure projects and rehabilitation centers for protected species, like a local iguana.

5 Essential Tips for Volcano Boarding in Nicaragua

Are you interested in volcano boarding in Nicaragua? Here are 5 essential tips for planning your adventure:

1) Use León as home base

The closest city to Cerro Negro is León. If you plan on going to Nicaragua for volcano boarding, I recommend booking your accommodations in León and making this beautiful colonial city your home base for this activity.

For perspective, Cerro Negro can easily be a 3 hour drive from Managua. The hike to the top of Cerro Negro could take up to an hour and boarding down to the bottom would probably take 5 minutes, tops. Currently there are no facilities at Cerro Negro and the closest ones are a 30 minute drive to León anyway. In my opinion, this option sounds like a tiring travel day with a weak payoff. I highly recommend staying in León for at least 1 night (though you may want to allocate more days to explore my favourite city in Nicaragua).

For more tips, check out: 10 Wonderful Things to Do in León, Nicaragua

Currently, no public transport is available for Cerro Negro. Therefore, there are only 2 options for getting there, (1) rent a car or (2) joining a volcano boarding tour group. If you choose to drive yourself to Cerro Negro, I heard that you can rent a board and protective gear from a ranger station run by the Cooperativa Pilas-El Hoyo (disclaimer: I can’t personally verify the accuracy of this since I didn’t go this route). The more convenient, stress-free option would be to go with a local volcano boarding tour.

2) Choose a local volcano boarding tour guide

Residents of León have taken advantage of its proximity to Cerro Negro and you can easily find companies offering daily volcano boarding tours in town. All tours offer roundtrip transportation to Cerro Negro, entrance fee, a guide, and volcano boarding equipment.

For your convenience, I am listing 3 of the most popular volcano boarding tour companies below:

Bigfoot Hostel and Volcano Boarding

Widely renowned as the creators of volcano boarding, Bigfoot offers discounts on the tour if you are staying at their hostel. Tours depart daily for sunrise, sunset or for day tours.

Cost: $35 USD

Tour fee includes:

• transportation
• local bilingual guide
• entrance fee
• photos
• fruit snacks
• hostel / hotel pick up & drop off (*Pick up between 12:15 PM and 1:00 PM*)
• safety equipment
• unique t-shirt
• speed radar gun reading
• bonfire & marshmallows (for the sunset tour only)
• drinks
• a meal at a local family house from Cerro Negro community

Volcano Day

This is the only tour operator in León that is 100% owned by Nicaraguans. They focus on developing local youth so that they learn valuable professional skills to set them up for a better life and opportunities. I chose Volcano Day specifically because it is 100% Nicaraguan and for its focus on supporting local youth.

Cost: $23 USD to $50 USD

Tour fee includes:

• transport
• English speaking guide
• pictures and videos
• volcano boarding equipment
• protective gear
• drinks and snacks (not included for Basic tour)
• lunch (for All-In and Twice tour)
• T-Shirt (not included for Basic tour)
• beach shuttle (for All-In and Twice tour)
• dinner (for Sunset tour)

Private Guides

For private volcano boarding tours, you can try this one from Viator or try looking in the Backpackers Nicaragua group in Facebook.

3) Prepare for hiking Cerro Negro

The hike up Cerro Negro is doable in 60 minutes but can be surprisingly challenging. It is a steep climb over a rocky terrain. The area is very windy and presents a challenge when carrying a 5 lb board up Cerro Negro as the boards act like sails against the wind. Beware of this. Lastly, there are no trees offering shade on Cerro Negro so it can get pretty hot.

While any closed-toe footwear with a solid sole is suitable for volcano boarding, I recommend wearing hiking boots with ankle support for the rocky ascent. If you don’t think you can carry a 5 lb board for 45 minutes up the volcano, you can hire someone on site to carry it for you for $5 USD. To avoid dehydration on the active(!) volcano, bring at least 1 L of water.

Here is my recommended volcano boarding packing list:

• hiking boots / walking shoes
• money for tips or if you want to hire someone to carry your board
• at least 1L of water
• hat
• sunscreen
• sunglasses
• bandana or face covering to protect your face from flying rocks
• mini first aid kit (with antiseptic, bandages, maybe an elastic bandage)
• GoPro (while most tour operators will take plenty of pictures of you and send via a shared drive, I recommend a GoPro for POV videos)

Summary of Cerro Negro Hike

4) Remember your safety training!

Volcano boarding is a relatively safe extreme sport. However, scratches, sprains, and broken bones are not uncommon. I find the faster you go, the higher the risk of getting an injury.

The main thing is to follow your guide’s safety instructions (because I don’t remember all of them ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) and go at the speed you’re comfortable with.

Generally, if you lean back and keep your feet up, you will go faster down the volcano. The start of the ride down starts slow so you can start with your feet comfortably up. Near the middle, the slope of Cerro Negro gets steeper and your board will start gaining momentum. This is the point where you want to start applying some resistance with your feet to control the speed. If you start putting your feet down when too much speed has been gained, this is where most flips happen. I also found that pulling on the rope handle attached to the nose of the board helped with speed. In my head, I was mindful of the nose not facing down into the volcano as I have this vision of the board catapulting me down Cerro Negro.

5) Have fun!

The top of Cerro Negro can be overwhelming but don’t let it intimidate you. Plenty of visitors (20,000 to be exact) embark on this adventure every year and so far, every single one of us have survived. I actually forgot I was nervous when I was mid way down and admiring the views. Don’t overthink it! My tips are here for fellow Virgos/INTPs/Type 1 personalities who must absolutely read ahead to plan and prepare. Remember to relish the ride that is over in a blink of an eye.

Have you ever gone volcano boarding? Share your experience or any tips I may have missed in the comments below!