The white cathedral of León, or the Cathedral Of The Assumption Of Mary is one of the two UNESCO World Heritage sites in Nicaragua, and probably León’s most recognizable pieces of architecture. One of my favorite memories from my time in Nicaragua was walking on the beautiful roof of the cathedral, overlooking the city below and the volcanoes in the distance.
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After the original building (built in 1531) was burned to the ground by an Englishman in 1685, the cathedral was designed in 1762, finished in 1814 and built so well that it has survived multiple earthquakes, volcano eruptions, wars and more over the years. The cathedral still holds the title of the largest in Central America.
Not only is the inside of the cathedral itself stunning along with the rooftop, there is also a really fascinating series of tunnels under the building that lead to the other churches around the city in the event of earthquakes that may hit.
HOW TO BUY TICKETS TO GO TO THE ROOF OF THE WHITE CATHEDRAL:
To get access to the roof, you will have to go to the back of the church through a door-into essentially the basement-to buy the ticket, which will cost you $3. Visiting the inside of the cathedral itself is free during open hours.
From there, you’ll go back towards the front of the church and enter through the side and walk straight up a couple of very narrow flights of stairs.
A couple of young boys will be at the top that work for the cathedral and they will take your ticket and make sure you take your shoes off so the perfect white, warm rooftop will stay perfectly bright white.
From there you are free to walk almost the entirety of the roof and admire the beautiful sights around the city. I probably spent around an hour on the roof, just admiring the surroundings and sounds around me.
BEST TIME OF THE DAY TO VISIT THE CATHEDRAL’S ROOF:
The cathedral and the roof are open every day, in the morning from 8am-12pm, and from 2:30pm-5pm.
Of course as the Central American sun can get so extremely hot, the best time of the day to go is earlier in the morning, or later in the day as the heat dies down.
Sunset is probably the most preferable time of the day to visit, as not only is it beautiful and a cooler time of day, the sunlight will not make the white roof as intensely bright as it does during the peak of the day. The entrance to the roof will close at 5pm, but while I was there they would keep it open for people that were already up there to watch the sunset.
León is such a fun city, there is such a good amount of things to do, but visiting the cathedral was one of my favorite activities while I was in town. It is for sure a must do when visiting León or the surrounding towns.
Madigan Murphy 