Chichigalpa

Chichigalpa is surrounded by sugar cane on the fertile volcanic plain of the northwest, and the Ingenio San Antonio mill has worked here since 1890, with the Flor de Caña distillery alongside producing the rum that is Nicaragua's best-known export drink. Tours run through the process from cane to column still to the warehouses where barrels age in the heat, and end with a tasting; they must be booked in advance and are not walk-in. Cane cutting is hard, hot work and the region has been the focus of long-running concern about chronic kidney disease among agricultural workers, which is a real part of the industry's context here. Outside the distillery the town itself is a working sugar town with little for visitors.

History

The first inhabitants are thought to have come from the north, people of Toltec origin within the domain of Chinandega and Tezoatega. The name, Chichicapan in Nahuat, is now read as "the fermented river", after the murky water of the Chichigalpa river where people washed and bathed (Wikipedia, Chichigalpa).

What to look for

• The cane plain - fields running to the volcanoes on all sides.
• The distillery - column stills and the production line.
• Ageing warehouses - barrels stored in the tropical heat.
• The mill - the sugar works that has run since 1890.

When to go

December to April is the cane harvest and milling season, when the mill is working and the fields are being cut. Tours must be booked ahead through the distillery and do not run every day.

Practical notes

Tours require advance booking and are not always available. The town has nothing else for visitors. Kidney disease among cane workers in this region is a serious and documented issue that the tour does not address, and it is worth knowing about.

Nearby

Chinandega lies northwest; San Cristóbal volcano rises north.

Key facts