Corn Island, Nicaragua. Photo: Intur.

Among Nicaragua’s tourist treasures, there is no doubt that one of its most prized pearls is Corn Island, that earthly paradise that enchants with the beauty of its nature and the cultural heritage that still survives in its people.

With a total area of ​​just nine square kilometers, and with about 7,500 inhabitants, Corn Island is part of the Nicaraguan Caribbean and one of the tourist wonders of the Central American region. This municipality belongs to the Autonomous Region of the South Caribbean Coast and is divided into two small islands.

The largest island has a series of wonderful beaches where you can go swimming, practice diving and snorkeling and take photos of the local marine fauna, for which the services of diving experts who operate in the territory can be hired.

Among the most attractive beaches of white sands and crystal clear waters are Long Bay, Sally Peachie, North End and South West Bay and Blowing Rock, the latter considered a marine site of volcanic stones, ideal for diving due to its rich life.

Surrounded by an extensive coral reef that can be seen with the naked eye from three meters away, the small island is a suitable destination for rest and relaxation. In addition, green and sustainable tourism enthusiasts would be happy to know that there are no fuel-burning vehicles here, hence the air you breathe is completely clean.

Corn Island, Nicaragua. Photo: Intur.

Cultural heritage

In this small piece of land in the Caribbean Sea, each year, at the end of the eighth month, the Day of Emancipation from Slavery is celebrated, to commemorate that August 27, 1841 when, by order of Queen Victoria, the minutes were read of the abolition of slavery.

There are several sites on the islands that remain as a trace of this history of African slaves and a mixture of cultures. Visitors can visit part of this land’s past through the wall of the slaves, the cannons of a sunken galleon, the oldest well on the island, the tomb of the slaves or NACO, an old iron steamer from Scotland.

On that date, popular dances and colorful caravans flood the neighborhoods of this region of Nicaragua, where the election and coronation of Miss Corn Island also take place and the locals prepare crab soup, just as their ancestors did in that distant August of the first half of the 19th century.

Corn Island, Nicaragua. Photo: Intur.

A beauty to protect and preserve

Recently, the National Assembly of Nicaragua declared Great Corn Island, Little Corn Island and Blowing Rock as a Protected Area of ​​Protected Land and Marine Landscape, with the aim of contributing to the care of the nation’s natural heritage.

This new law should add greater efforts from the municipal and regional government and various institutions to conserve and protect the natural land and marine resources of these islands, without affecting economic activities such as fishing, tourism and cattle raising.

Corn Island, Nicaragua. Photo: Intur.