Cerro Negro, located in Leon, Nicaragua, is the only place in the world where Volcano Boarding can be done. This was the main reason why Leon was a stop on my travels.
There are usually 2 daily departures, 8am and 2pm. I was keen to do the cock fighting tour organized by the hostel later in the evening, and thus opted for the 8am Volcano Boarding trip.
At 8.30am, I was picked up in a 4x4 and we made our way to Cerro Negro, located about 1hr drive from Leon.
It was a much smaller group than I expected, with just another French couple and I.
Arriving in front of a black hill, made up of ashes and gravel – This is Cerro Negro, which also literally means Black Hill.
At a height of about 500m, it is still an active volcano, with the last eruption taking place in 1999. In some sections, you could feel the heat from the volcano coming through from the ground!
Our guide, David, gave each of us our boards, as well as a small backpack containing an overall, goggles and gloves, items we needed to wear for the boarding experience.
The board was placed horizontally in the space between my back and the back pack, as we made our 1hr climb to the top.
The trek wasn't tough, but wasn't too easy either with a few steep climbs in certain sections. The views along the way were amazing though.
Half way through our trek, the winds picked up. With the boards behind our back, maintaining our balance on the climb was a challenge, so we removed the boards from our back and carried it in our hands instead.
Once on the top, we put on our gears, and was given instructions on how to volcano board. There were a few other groups out as well, and we waited for them to make their way down before we commenced our descent.
And then it was my turn. I pushed myself off to start the slide with my feet. It was rather slow at first but it built up speed and soon I was making good momentum down.
Gravel and sand flew in all directions as I slid down. Thankfully I had good protective gear on.
It took me 1 hr to climb to the top, but less than 2 mins to make my way to the bottom.
If they had a ski lift here, I would had gladly love to go on another 1 or more times!
There are usually 2 daily departures, 8am and 2pm. I was keen to do the cock fighting tour organized by the hostel later in the evening, and thus opted for the 8am Volcano Boarding trip.
At 8.30am, I was picked up in a 4x4 and we made our way to Cerro Negro, located about 1hr drive from Leon. It was a much smaller group than I expected, with just another French couple and I.
Arriving in front of a black hill, made up of ashes and gravel – This is Cerro Negro, which also literally means Black Hill.
At a height of about 500m, it is still an active volcano, with the last eruption taking place in 1999. In some sections, you could feel the heat from the volcano coming through from the ground!
Our guide, David, gave each of us our boards, as well as a small backpack containing an overall, goggles and gloves, items we needed to wear for the boarding experience.
The board was placed horizontally in the space between my back and the back pack, as we made our 1hr climb to the top.
The trek wasn't tough, but wasn't too easy either with a few steep climbs in certain sections. The views along the way were amazing though.
Half way through our trek, the winds picked up. With the boards behind our back, maintaining our balance on the climb was a challenge, so we removed the boards from our back and carried it in our hands instead.
Once on the top, we put on our gears, and was given instructions on how to volcano board. There were a few other groups out as well, and we waited for them to make their way down before we commenced our descent.
And then it was my turn. I pushed myself off to start the slide with my feet. It was rather slow at first but it built up speed and soon I was making good momentum down. Gravel and sand flew in all directions as I slid down. Thankfully I had good protective gear on.
It took me 1 hr to climb to the top, but less than 2 mins to make my way to the bottom.
If they had a ski lift here, I would had gladly love to go on another 1 or more times!
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