Fifty years of connection between
the land, the family, and the future.
Roots in the mountains
Selva Negra is located at kilometer 140 of the Matagalpa–Jinotega highway, in the historic mountains where German immigrants established the first coffee plantations in the 19th century. Their descendants are the founders of Selva Negra, who still preserve centuries-old traditions and a deep connection to the land.
The hotel preserves valuable historical objects, such as the original railway wheel used to transport coffee from the plantations to the port of Corinto for export, as well as photographs documenting the arrival of the first settlers in Matagalpa.
A family and sustainable legacy
Selva Negra Ecolodge is part of Finca La Hammonia, a property acquired by Eddy Kühl and Mausi Hayn in 1975, when it was exclusively a coffee farm. That same year, they began building a small complex of cabins under the name Selva Negra, which over time evolved into the mountain hotel that today celebrates 50 years of history.
From the very beginning, the project has maintained a balance between sustainable agricultural production and responsible hospitality, integrating activities such as coffee production, meat production, dairy products (Gouda, Manchego, Camembert, Feta), fruits, vegetables, cured meats, and poultry, in harmony with nature and the people who live and work on the farm.
Over the years, Selva Negra has promoted pioneering environmental projects in Nicaragua, including ecological wastewater treatment, reforestation, biogas production, and the cultivation of beneficial microorganisms to regenerate the soil. Each initiative reaffirms its commitment to sustainability, innovation, and deep respect for the nature that gives it life.
Nature, community, and purpose
La historia del café de la hacienda La Hammonia se relaciona a la historia del café en Nicaragua en general. En los años 1880 el gobierno nicaragüense invitó a inmigrantes alemanes a venir y vivir en Nicaragua con un fin de promover el crecimiento de café. El abuelo de Eddy Kühl (Otto Kühl) y el bisabuelo de Mausi Hayn (Albert Vogl) estaban entre estos inmigrantes alemanes. Albert Vogl y Otto Kühl se establecieron en terrenos cerca de La Hammonia. Hans Bosche, quien vino a Nicaragua durante el mismo tiempo se estableció en el terreno que es ahora Selva Negra. La finca se llamó entonces y todavía se reconoce como La Hammonia, el latín para Hamburgo ciudad original de Hans Bosche. Bosche vivió en La Hammonia hasta 1956 cuando fue comprado por Reynaldo Rivera. En 1975 Mausi y Eddy compraron La Hammonia de su viuda en un intento de volver a las raíces de cafetaleros.
