Nicaragua’s reputation has yet to recover completely from its civil war, a conflict that ended 28 years ago. Its southern neighbor, Costa Rica, draws almost double the number of visitors, even though Nicaragua is blessed with similarly beautiful, unspoiled landscapes. And unlike Costa Rica, Nicaragua has well-preserved colonial cities, notably colorful and pedestrian-friendly Granada. True, Nicaragua doesn’t have as wide a selection of luxury hideaways, but the gap is closing.

On my previous two visits, I explored the exquisite archipelago of Las Isletas in Lake Nicaragua from Jicaro Island Ecolodge and the splendid southern coast from the plush Mukul Beach Golf & Spa resort. This time, we headed inland, delving into the countryside off the well-maintained main road leading south from Managua. The contrast between Nicaragua and Costa Rica is most obvious during drives like this. In poorer Nicaragua, horse-drawn carts are still common.

Our destination was one of Central America’s newest and most exclusive resorts, Nekupe. Its name means “heaven” in an indigenous language, which sets expectations rather high, as does the stratospheric price. We reserved the smallest of the eight accommodations, the 700-square-foot JR Villa, which cost a bracing $1,650 per night, including tax, service, food and most on-site activities. I wondered how a resort in middle-of-nowhere Nicaragua — without any sort of water view — could possibly justify such a price tag. It did not take long to discover the answer.