El Castillo del cacao, Matagalpa

Small place and not really worth 8 dollars for the tour. Still a nice place to spend an hour. If you don't speak Spanish you're going to have to book an expensive tour before you go. The guy that works here only speaks Spanish.

We'll worth a visit and the $6 entry fee. A short taxi ride out of Matagalpa (walkable if you really want to but as taxis are so frequent and cheap I wouldn't bother). Only a small place, all work done by just 3 women. Expect an explanation of each step of the process but be aware you will only get to actually witness the current task in action (for our trip it was packaging). Tour in Spanish, if you understand at least a bit, you should get the gist. If you have no Spanish at all, you might want to book a tour through Matagalpa Tours, I understand they transport you and provide an English speaking guide, however the fee is more like $20-$25 dollars which is a big increase from $6 when going on your own. At the end of the tour you get to taste a couple of samples with a coffee. The chocolate is really good and you can buy bars cheaper here than any of the shops.