Somoto canyon

Up in the north of the country, near the Honduran border and not too far from the sleepy town of Somoto, lies the convergence of two small rivers to form the Rio Coco, the longest river in Central America. The first two miles of the Rio Coco just happens to flow through a spectacular, steep-sided canyon. It was only discovered as a tourist attraction five years ago and still receives very few tourists considering its beauty. This is probably set to change shortly, as the location gains in fame as it is now an official national monument, featured on the new 50 cordoba banknote and highlighted in new guidebooks. With Jan and Nick at the head of the canyon.

We've visited twice now and loved jumping in and out of the water, clambering over the rocks, peeking into caves and hiking up to viewpoints with local community guides. With Jonny on what turned out to be a day for lots of swimming and floating.

Swimming through the stunning canyon with clear waters and bats overhead.

Spot Simon jumping off a very high rock into one of the deeper parts of the canyon.

We encountered this little tortoise crossing our path but he quickly retreated into his shell.