Mogotón

Where is Mogotón?

Mogotón is part of the Cordillera Dipilto y Jalapa.

You will find it in: Nicaragua.

Summit: 13.763° N, 86.398° W

The story behind it

Most people picture Nicaragua as a land of volcanoes and lakes, but this summit is different: it is made of old granite, wears a coat of pine forest, and the exact height is argued about, with maps differing by a few metres. The border with Honduras runs right across the ridge, so from the top you look into two countries. Higher up the pines give way to cloud forest, where mist hangs in the branches and mosses, ferns and orchids grow on every trunk. Trogons and hummingbirds flash between the leaves, and at dawn the forest is loud with birdsong. Lower down, families grow coffee in the shade of taller trees, and the whole range is a protected nature reserve. Walkers start near the small towns of Dipilto or Ocotal and usually go with a local guide.

Find it on the globe

Mogotón is there as a small peak with its own shape — a horn, a ridge, a volcano — standing on the surface. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.