Nagarando

Nagarando was an indigenous settlement and district near Lake Xolotlán, beneath the volcano Momotombo. Its communities belonged to the densely inhabited Pacific lowlands of Nicaragua. Here the Spanish founded León in 1524, making it an early centre of their rule in the region. León’s early years were marked by violence and the enslavement of indigenous people, many of whom were sent to Panama and Peru. Volcanic activity and earthquakes repeatedly threatened the town. After a severe earthquake in 1610, its inhabitants moved west to a new site near Sutiaba, leaving the old city beside the lake.