Geography and Climate
Nicaragua is the largest country in central America. The biological diversity, warm tropical climate and active volcanoes make Nicaragua an increasingly popular tourist destination. Most tourists visit during the dry season, which runs from December to May. The rainy season is from June to November and the on the Pacific side the rainy season runs from May to November. The climate on the Atlantic northwestern side can be very temperamental and generally receiving the highest volumes of rainfall in the country.
Nicaragua covers a total area of 130,370 square kilometers (119,990 square kilometers of which is land area) and contains a variety of climates and terrains.The country's physical geography divides it into three major zones: the Pacific lowlands, the wetter, cooler central highlands, and the Caribbean lowlands. On the Pacific side of Nicaragua are the two largest fresh water lakes in Central America—Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua. Surrounding these lakes and extending to their northwest along the rift valley of the Gulf of Fonseca are fertile lowland plains, with soil highly enriched with ash from nearby volcanoes.
