This week’s dream: a volcanic adventure in Nicaragua

Built around nine active volcanoes, and battered – in living memory – by earthquakes, revolution and civil war, Nicaragua is not ideal for nervous travellers, says David Rennie in The Economist’s 1843 magazine. But this small Central American country is markedly safer than “troubled” Honduras or Guatemala; and, with its “lush jungles, near-empty beaches and mansion-filled colonial towns”, it sees far fewer visitors than it deserves. It also offers plenty of activities – from kayaking along jungle rivers, to “ash surfing” down volcanoes – at cheaper rates than established destinations nearby, such as Costa Rica. Indeed, it is so well suited to an adventurous family holiday that a tourism boom in the near future seems almost inevitable. “The greatest risk might be waiting too long to visit.”

The country’s two finest historic cities, Granada and León, rival those of Mexico or Cuba. Both have lovely and affordable hotels converted from old Spanish mansions, with courtyard gardens, swimming pools and often “outstanding” breakfasts. And León offers a unique treat – the chance to walk on the roof of its 18th century cathedral, the largest in Central America. Exploring this vast white space, with its views across to a horizon filled with volcanoes, you feel as though you’re in “an avant-garde film about the afterlife”. Equally extraordinary are the volcanoes themselves. Nearby Masaya is so “seethingly active” that visitors are only permitted to spend five minutes at the crater, gazing down at the molten lava “roaring” far below. Or climb Cerro Negro, the region’s youngest volcano, and you can surf back down on hired boards. The beaches of the Pacific coast are great for surfing of the conventional kind, too. But most beautiful of all is Ometepe, a “languid” lake island dominated by two forested volcanoes. Audley Travel (01993-838613, www.audleytravel.com) has a 10-day trip from £2,300pp, including flights.