Ticuantepe is a town and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...

department of

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

with an estimated population of 39,012. The municipality is likely named after the Nahua chiefdom of Tekwantepek which was located in the Managua department. According to Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

and historian

Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés (August 1478 – 1557), commonly known as Oviedo, was a Spanish soldier, historian, writer, botanist and colonist. Oviedo participated in the Spanish colonization of the West Indies, arriving in the first fe ...

, Tekwantepek was a militarily strong chiefdom that was one of the last to fall to the conquistadors and their central-Mexican allies. The chiefdom's name is a combination of the

Nawat Nawat (academically Pipil, also known as Nahuat) is a Nahuan languages, Nahuan language native to Central America. It is the southernmost extant member of the Uto-Aztecan languages, Uto-Aztecan family. Before Spanish colonization of the Americas ...

words ''tēkwani'' (

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

), and ''tepek'' (hill), therefore the translation of Tekwantepek is "hill of jaguars" or "jaguar hill".

Etymology

Ticuantepe comes from the Nahuatl language of the first inhabitants of Nicaragua. ''Ticuane'', which means fierce or tiger, and ''tepeh'', which means hill, are combined to make Ticuantepe (''"Hill of the Fierce"'').

Overview

Ticuantepe has the largest underground

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

in the nation, and is the largest supplier of pineapples to all of Nicaragua. Ticuantepe has an estimated population of 37,545, 44.7% of which live in urban zones and 55.3% in

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

zones. The town has a nice "pueblo" feel to it. It is one of the safer areas of Nicaragua and is located just 20 minutes from downtown Managua. There is easy transportation to and from Ticuantepe to most of Nicaragua by bus, microbus and moto-taxi. Located just 20 minutes from Managua and from Masaya as well as only 35 minutes from Granada, it is central but at the same time, has a rural environment. The volcano "Volcan Masaya" is about 15 minutes away.

Flora and fauna

Located in Ticuantepe is Chocoyero Nature Reserve, which is the smallest

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

in Nicaragua at just . Chocoyero is a

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10° north and south of the Equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28° latitudes (in the torrid zo ...

and is abundant in water. It is home to two waterfalls, El Brujo and Chocoyero, named after the Pacific parakeets that make the walls of the cliff their home, they are locally known as Chocoyos. Chocoyero is home to an estimated 113

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

species, 29 species of

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

s and 21 types of

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

s and

amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

Tourism

Chocoyero Nature Reserve is regarded as an important tourist attraction. Each year an estimated 10,000 people visit the reserve. There are wild howler monkeys as well as a vast array of flora and fauna and two waterfalls. It is a two-hour hike around the reserve and most people travel in and out of the reserve by moto-taxi. It is about 7 kilometers off of the main road. There are a handful of clean hotels and nice restaurants. The main hotels are Viva Guesthouse and The Chocoyo and both have pools and are secure. The restaurant Las Pitahayas is well known throughout most of Nicaragua and is located in Ticuantepe. There is one Spanish language school located in Ticuantepe; Ticuantepe Spanish School, operated by Nicaragua Spanish Schools. It is well integrated into the community and a great place to enjoy Ticuantepe. Ticuantepe has been a sister city of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. Milwaukee residents collected aid shipments for Ticuantepe during the years of the Sandinista government, with a focus on medical supplies. After 1990, Milwaukee's aid shipments fell off as a result of the imposition of custom charges, and around 2005, the sister city relationship was discontinued.

References

External links