Masaya Volcano is considered an active volcano and is still chugging. Its difference from other volcanoes is that you can drive up to its crater by car.


The volcano is located right next to the main highway passing through all the main cities of Central America ("Pan American"), 15 minutes drive from Managua.
This is one of the seven active volcanoes in the country, despite the small height of its dome (less than 600 m). Its last notable activity dates back to January 2016. According to INETER (Instituto Nicareguense de Estudios Territoriales), which monitors this complex and all other volcanoes in Nicaragua, the surrounding population is approximately 1 million inhabitants within a radius of 5 to 10 km, 2 million to 30 km and 3 million to 100 km.
The volcano forms the center of the Masaya Volcano National Park, and at its foot is the eponymous volcanic lake. The park covers an area of ​​54 km 2, which includes five craters and has more than 20 km of trails, and the car road even allows you to get by car to the parking lot near the Santiago crater; it is one of the few volcanoes in the world that can be reached by car to the rim of the crater.