El Zopilote Hotel

I didn't stay there, but I went for the caco ceremony with Aaron. It was a really great experience, and I'm glad I went (even though I was way out of my comfort zone)

Incredible experience! So chill, good vibes, back to nature. Very basic amenities and accommodation. The people are incredible. I really enjoyed my stay!

I love this place the people are very nice the island is so beautiful is apparently amazing zopilote is the place to be to just get away from the hustle and bustle.

Excellent attention, a space of incredible natural, healthy and delicious food, and full of people super good vibe, eager to share their experiences with the that comes! Antojado back! Pura vida!

It's awesome place! Pure nature, wonderful vibes, all people just so amazing to talk, play and have fun! Food is delicious, and everything grow in the garden! I love El Zopilote, already month here and want to stay more!

El Zopilote is one of the best places I have ever been, I love the permaculture there and being together with the people there is more like in a community ✨

Wonderful place… The hostel is in the middle of the jungle… wonderful farm and great people and food… You can get a free tour around the farm and learn about perma culture and they have different other activities and stuff to do around the farm. I am fascinated and can definitely recommend this place.

100% organic. So good pizza. 100% permaculture. Perfect eco hostel! Must visit!

Permaculture paradise and jungle hostel on the volcan Maderas… many activities, good and healthy food, soo good pizzas… aplace where you can learn a lot… Thanks Zopilote.

The guides they provided for the volcano hike were excellent. The Iguana hut we slept in was comfortable. Food was meh, but you shouldn't expect much.

I really enjoyed my time at El Zipolote. I went on the permaculture tour with Cristiano, the owner. I learned so much and left feeling inspired to live in a more sustainable way at home. The food is delicious, with organic food from their farm. Great experience and very highly recommended.

Awesome experience, I thought I was going to stay for a night but have decided to extend my stay as I love it here.   The place is beautiful, a totally new experience. A different way to view the world. Everything here is sustainable, recyclable and eco friendly. This is the place where you come to be one with nature as you feel it, interact with it and sleep on it. It's fun and super cheap  too! :-)  

Nicaragua, despite the bad press is awesome and Zopilote is a True nature experience with lovely staff & great atmosphere This is not for the HOTEL/RESORT lovers. El Zopilote has no air conditioning as they rely solely on renewable energies (wind & sun). Toilets are made using the composting system, which, unlike what many might think, they do NOT smell. This farm recycles everything and protects the cycle of life (from the time you eat it to the time you poop it and all in between). Accommodation is mingled with the "locals" (including creepy crawlies, mosies, spiders and other natural yet sometimes annoying creatures). The farm is around 7 hectares (info taken from the tour we were given for free), and you see squirrels around and hear the monkies in the background, great variety of butterflies and birds are found in the finca too. The pizza nights are awesome with a fire performer (brazilian guy). Make sure you take a headlight with you to roam around at night. There is no light pollution (pitch black) so the stars shine brighter than I have ever seen! Massages, bon fires, pizza night, yoga, bread, permaculture, volunteering, Quizz night, and many more are all the things that are happening in this place… if you don't want to do anything is also fine, there are plenty of hammocks to just sit and watch the nature as it unfolds.

I travel with a tent, and in places like this it is perfect. I pay 4 dollars a night and have no reason to leave this place. Awesome food, people, parties and love.

Have never stayed here, but always have come for the awesome food which they make in house from local ingredients. Definitely worth a visit at least, and the bus shop has a lot of cool crafts and local artisanal products. Pizza night is also a good time and the food is delicious.

Absolutely amazing ✨ get into the jungle and actually experience a proper permaculture style life! filled with education, wildlife, outdoor showers and all kinds of glory! delicious food and lovely people x insects are part of the jungle-remember that, and have fun!

One of the most beautiful hostels in the world.

Super chill spot, with travelers from all over the world. The outdoor sleeping bunks are fantastic, and already have mosquito nets. Lots of healthy, local, and tasty food. Wi-Fi in the shared space.

Deception all. The photos do not correspond with the room they gave us. It was light and no one did anything during 24h. It seems that there is a Buzzard that corresponds with the photos, but, without prior notice, you can send a few accommodation partners who are climbing a path without lighting, and the rooms do not correspond with the photos. Anything recommended. The whole 'hippie', but prices to tourists to what is Nicaragua. To nothing local environment.

Awesome place for chilling and backpackers! They have tents, hammocks, great healthy food at the restaurant, they are eco-friendly, they like recycling ♻, they have pizza nights with music and fire poi… There are many chillout areas. You can do yoga as there is normally someone who provides yoga classes. You can rent mopeds. They have a shop where you can buy beautiful hand-made crafts and other things. Over all It's a great place to chill out and meet new people around the world too.

Good hostel good volunteers!

We booked a double room with booking. They gave us a bed separated from the living room of other two rooms just with a curtain. When we asked for another room, just for us, they answered that everything is booked and it is our fault, double room is not the same as a private room… Just what you want to hear after walking with 2 backpacks, 10 min uphill and searching for some relaxation. The girl at the reception was polite, but somehow saying that I am the stupid one because I booked with booking and not with airbnb. The photos they had on the first site were not actually from the rooms you get… Quite pissed we searched smth else. If you are lucky you probably have a nice room, otherwise just an overpriced bed with a curtain.

Totally eco-friendly accommodation, you can rent a bedroom or hammock and if you carry carp paid for the site 4us, electricity completely green, well baths, has a restaurant where they sell food that they produce in the Hacienda… They do activities every day which you have to ask what is done… They do free yoga classes at 7am and 4pm the atmosphere is terrific!

Fun place to stay. Volunteers on the farm run events to get everyone out in the evenings. Pizza nights get crazy… In a good way. It is up on the side of the volcano so it's a bit of a walk up. Worth it though. Food is really good.

One of my favourite places I have stayed in all of central america. Gorgeous farm, wonderful staff and volunteers and secluded enough to feel like a getaway, yet still very accessible. Delicious food and the free yoga is so rad!

The place is hard to find but worth it. It is very peacefull! Go there to get some energy back after traveling for a while. The only bad thing is if you have allergies because of all the plants haha, you are in the jungle, so think about it. It is a bit far from town, but you can easily get whatever you need at the hostel!

Great concept however needs a lot of work. Over priced rooms and average food (aside from the amazing blue cheese for breakfast). We were promised our $5 key deposit back but no one would give it back to us in the morning before we had to leave. Great people staying there but the actual place needs improving. Was nice but wouldn't stay there again.

Came here for the food. They got vegan options and not vegan options. Very nice atmosphere.

You definitely need to be young, in shape and don't care if your shower has no door, or go to the bathroom in a latrine. There is no road, it is definitely a backpackers place. You hike uphill to get to the place through the woods. It's not for 50 something's that are out of shape and love comfortable accommodations!

We had very high expectations because a lot of people recommended us the place. The environment is not unique, the majority of guests spoke in English, and it is not a good place if you want to soak up the rich local people. We dined over pizza one night and it was pretty tasteless. The breakfast improved a little bit. Rustic atmosphere but we've slept in hammocks on the side of the restaurant, and put electronic music very high until 23:30 hs. Not we would repeat.

À place literally in the jungle, relaxing and with absolutely great food. I recommend to anyone that doesn't mind bugs and humidity.

Rustic, basic, and environmentally conscious! A nice place to stay during your trip to Ometepe. Not for those who prefer luxury.

Never stayed here, but enjoy pizza nights very much (Tuesdays & Saturdays at 6:30 pm). While the pizzas are quite good, with a large selection… It is the entertainment value and atmosphere that makes it THE PLACE to be. Picnic tables under the trees with a view to the awesome wood pizza oven, music, random performances by talented guests (fire dancers, clowns, singers… you never know what you will find) and loads of travelers to talk with. Get there early as seating at the tables fills up fast.

A very unique hostel with excellent food for breakfast. A drink I had wasn't very good & was overpriced. El Zopilote does what it wants to do very well. Because of its emphasis on permaculture to farm its own food, it attracts plenty of hippies, but also the usual party backpacking crowd. The cabin I stayed in was small, basic, and not very comfortable. It felt like I was camping. You are laying for the coolness factor, not comfort.

The concept behind the place is good — eco-lodge, recycling, compost toilet. In practice we were a bit disappointed. First we were given a dorm, 10 min away on foot from the central area of the hostel at las Brisas, then the only place available was beds in a gazebo with no walls. What mostly worried me ethically, is that being a 10-min walk up a hill on a path through the wilderness, many guests decide to go for the over-priced food menu and contract guides directly from reception, when both the food and the guide services can be bought directly from the villagers who deserve to earn money as well. Just a personal opinion.

A must stay if on Ometepe! A place to open your mind, contribute to the amazing community and appreciate Mother Nature at its finest. Free yoga too! Yes there are lots of bugs and yes the toilets are compost but if you take the farm tour, you learn of their importance.
The food is EXCELLENT (eggplant sandwich and hummus beet sandwich personal favourites) and people you meet are like minded and amazing. We stayed 3 nights wish we had more time & definitely don't miss pizza night!
Thanks Zopilote for the best experience.

This place is truly something. They've built an amazing operation here in a beautiful setting among the forest. My friend and I decided to stay here after hearing good things, though we should have done our own research. El Zopilote manages to hit every hippie cliche in the book. There are drum circles, charm bracelets, reiki, rampant veganism… I slept very poorly here. The dormitories are outside in a gazebo so no walls — not good during the rainstorm on our first night. On the top bunk, the mosquito net is so low that lies on top of your face, and it had massive holes in it anyway. Getting here is a challenge too, involving a 10 minute uphill hike through the trees with your bag, with the added difficulty of doing it in the Central American heat. We were dripping with sweat upon arrival, and we're in relatively good shape. I have a lot of respect for this place, and the restaurant is excellent, but I've realized that I'm a lot leaa hippie than I thought I was.

This is a beautiful place, I especially like the dorms which have no walls so you can wake up to the beautiful surroundings. The pizza night was great, I'd recommend to people not staying here and it's close to a lot of cool things on this side of the island. The staff though was forgetful, or didn't fill our coffees all the way, didn't show us around and just did what they needed to do. The concept of the hostel is awesome but I expected more from the staff, it's seems like it should have a coop energy to it (like everyone stoked to be here) but it doesn't, which makes the vibe of the staff even that much more apparent than it would in a normal hostel. That being said it didn't overshadow the outdoor shower and the overall sweetness of the surroundings. I'm glad I stayed here.

Good atmosphere, I was in the Vulture 2 weeks and I learned to make bread and pasta!

Lovely place in which nature and ecological culture are in the foreground. You eat very well and activities are managed perfectly … yoga, hiking, recreational activities. Various options of stay such as "customer" and as a "volunteer" … all in one place naturalistically wonderful … must try.

Amazing permaculture farm in a beautiful environment, free yoga class every day, farm to table delicious food, solar panel and wind generator to make power, many activities daily… those are just few of the highlights. You have to go and see for yourself… The hostel and the restaurant are priced very reasonable the people working there, even if not everybody speak english fluently, are very kind and try to help you in whatever is needed. Bring a flashlight for the night because there is no lights in the pats (although there is in every cabin) Don't forget to take a tour of the farm you can learn a lot of things about this farm that you would miss if you don't.

As to the house. A fantastic place where I always return willingly. The atmosphere of the nights of pizza, the delicious food of the restaurant, cabañas basic but comfortable. From the mirador and then, you can enjoy the view of the whole island.

Trendy traveler vibe with exceptional permaculture community, free yoga in the morning and again in the evening. Restaurant is slow but it's island time so it's relative. Just relax and make a friend. Fun activities offered each day and educational options as well. Good pizza night parties that attract people within zopilote and neighboring hostels. Iguana hut was dreamy dreamy dreamy.

Good atmosphere, a very relaxing experience and natural.

Nice place in the middle of the forest on the slopes of the volcano. Great designed, invites you to linger.

It is an organic farm huge and beautiful where one can enjoy the nature and tranquility of the island. The people are very friendly and always willing to share.

A place to enjoy the island and visit their places in the bike brothers palaces.

Nice place, access uncomfortable for walking, route rocky, but when you get well looked after by two brothers.