Maderas is the older, smaller and friendlier of Ometepe's two volcanoes. At 1,394 metres it is extinct — the last eruption was thousands of years ago — and its slopes are covered in cloud forest that supports howler monkeys, agoutis and a long list of orchids. A crater lake sits in the summit caldera, a steep hike but a memorable goal.
The climb to the lake takes seven or eight hours round trip from Mérida or Balgüe on the eastern side of the island. It is wet, muddy and steep, especially in rainy season, but does not need the technical exposure of Concepción. Pre-Columbian petroglyphs dot the lower slopes — the local hostels and homestays can point you to several panels of carved spirals, animals and figures that are still being catalogued.