Club Vistalagos is on the eastern edge of Lake Apoyo which is a crater lake formed about 21,000 years ago.
Lake Apoyo is the largest of the crater lakes in Nicaragua and undoubtedly the most beautiful.
The sides of the crater are covered in pristine dry tropical forest and abound with wildlife including white-faced and howler monkeys, sloths, porcupines, and a huge range of birds. Many of the trees in this forest are over 100 years old.
The lake is bursting with fish, one species of which is not found anywhere else in the world, not even elsewhere in Nicaragua. There are also edible crustaceans including one delicious species of crab.
The water of the lake is exceptionally clean and clear and is reputed to have therapeutic qualities for the skin owing to the presence of sulphur and other minerals. It is delightfully warm all year round for swimming.
Lake Apoyo is also very deep (about 700 feet at its maximum). In fact the bottom of the lake is said to be the deepest point in all of Central America as it goes down far below sea-level. The edges of the crater rise to 542 metres above sea level (1778 feet) but Club Vistalagos is at the lowest level of the crater lip just 117 metres above the lake (383 feet) making access easy by foot or by car.
The lake has no natural surface outflow giving it a delicate ecosystem which it is important to preserve. The lake and surrounding crater walls have therefore been declared a Protected Area under Nicaraguan Law. Club Vistalagos works with the Ministry of the Environment to help keep Lake Apoyo in its beautiful natural state. We prohibit any activities that might represent an environmental threat including tree felling, hunting and open fires.