Rivas Department, Administrative department in southwestern Nicaragua.
Rivas Department is an administrative region in southwestern Nicaragua wedged between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean, encompassing ten municipalities. The landscape is dominated by agricultural plantations spreading across hills and flat areas.
This region was home to the Nicarao peoples who established their own communities before Spanish arrival in the sixteenth century. Colonization fundamentally transformed society and shaped the territory that exists today.
Local communities practice traditional crafts and farming methods that are visible when walking through villages and markets. The daily rhythm here is shaped by agricultural cycles and the connection to the land.
Most visitors use San Jorge as a departure point for ferries to Ometepe Island or head to San Juan del Sur to reach Pacific beaches. Buses connect the larger towns, and you can walk around the villages.
Within this region lies Ometepe, an island in Lake Nicaragua featuring two volcanoes and a substantial resident population. This island area is geologically distinctive and culturally set apart from the mainland.
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