San Juan del Norte, also known as San Juan de Nicaragua, at the mouth of the rio bearing the same name, near the Indio Maiz reserve, is a small village where several indigenous communities live side by side. There are no roads here, only canals and small streams. Its remoteness, difficult access and lack of development make it a special and original destination. This is the end of the « stroll » along the Rio San Juan. You can even see the ghostly old foundations of a late 19th-century canal project. You’re in the Caribbean. Whether you’re a lover of rare aquatic species or a fan of fishing, you’ve come to the right place. Also, the locals have some great stories to tell. The village cemeteries have a few expatriates, English, American and even a consul from the German Empire. So much for the territorial and imperial disputes that took place here. Even today, there are some border tensions with neighboring Costa Rica.
San Juan del Norte: isolated town at the mouth of the Rio San Juan in the Caribbean
San Juan del Norte is an isolated town lost in the jungle, with waterways, rivers and streams acting as roads. Jungle and small lakes dot the territory. Different ethnic communities used to live here, and its center is not far from the ruins of the old town. Green and humid, we’re at the gateway to the lush Indio Maíz Biosphere Reserve and at the mouth of the river.
History of San Juan del Norte
When the Spaniards arrived, the founding of the town was fairly rapid, and they named the new colony San Juan del Norte, mainly because of its geographical position in what they called el mar del norte, the northern Caribbean seas. Looking at the maps today, we can see the errors made by the conquistadores and their charts of the time.
San Juan del Norte, a strategic location, quickly became a commercial town, with many goods passing between the country’s colonial towns, the Caribbean islands and Spain, of course.
In the 19th century, San Juan del Norte and other towns were attacked by the English, who often made alliances with the local natives in an attempt to impose the British crown. Jamaica is not far away, and the governor of the time even managed an expedition and the conquest of the town, which was then called Greytown. In honor of Sir Grey, the English governor. It was no coincidence, then, that the town’s prosperity coincided with the gold rush, with swarms of prospectors and adventurers on their way to California. During this period, British consulates and commercial hangars flourished in the area. Banks and casinos also took root in this prosperous new town.
A line of British-style wooden houses formed the city’s main thoroughfare. It was at this very moment that the idea of an inter-oceanic canal was born in the minds of San Juan del Norte’s businessmen. Technically, it seemed feasible: the canal would be much easier to build at this precise point on the river, and the river’s flow rate would make this feat possible. Of course, the San Juan River was an excellent natural means of transport, a low-risk estuary despite large sandbars, and the northern mouth was a real gateway. In the 19th century, gigantic dredgers were rapidly built, while at the same time the Panama Canal was nearing completion. As the project at San Juan del Norte slowly sank into the bay,Greytown lost its strategic role and deteriorated. At the end of 1980, in the midst of the civil war, it was the scene of a fierce battle between contras and Sandinistas. All that remained was the cemetery and a few damaged buildings.
The population gradually returned, and plans were underway to rebuild the town, even just a few kilometers away. A few families rebuilt San Juan del Norte, which is still a remote spot with barely 900 inhabitants.
How do I get to San Juan del Norte in Nicaragua?
The only way to reach San Juan del Norte is by sea
- from San Carlos aboard a panga along the Rio San Juan, departing twice a week
- from Costa Rica via the Caribbean Sea.
Plan your next trip to Nicaragua!
