Zapatera is the lake's second-largest island and one of its quietest — a forested, sparsely inhabited volcanic island just south of Granada that has been protected as a national park since 1983. Pre-Columbian inhabitants left some of the most important sculptural art in Central America here: massive basalt statues of deities, warriors and animals, many now in the museum of the Convento San Francisco in Granada.
Day trips run from Granada or the Asese peninsula, usually in small motor boats, and need to be arranged in advance because the island has minimal infrastructure. Once there, you walk forest tracks to lookouts over the lake, swim from black-sand beaches and visit the small ranger station that explains the archaeology. Few visitors come here compared with Ometepe — which is exactly the point.