Cerro Negro is one of the youngest volcanoes in Central America — it only first erupted in 1850. Since then it has erupted many more times, each time adding new layers of black ash and rock. The name means 'Black Hill' in Spanish, and when you see it rising up against the green fields around it, completely jet-black, you understand why.
Hiking to the top takes about an hour. At the top you can see the cone of the volcano up close and look out over the surrounding volcanoes and farmland. The view is enormous. On the way up you might spot small lizards darting between the black rocks, which get very warm in the sun.
Volcano boarding is the really exciting part. You put on an orange boiler suit and goggles to keep the ash off, sit on a simple wooden board, and push yourself off down the 726-metre ash slope. The ash is loose and fast, and good riders can reach 80 kilometres per hour. Most people go a bit slower — but it is still a huge rush.
Because Cerro Negro is still active, scientists monitor it carefully. Small earthquakes and plumes of gas from the vents remind everyone that the volcano is still very much alive underground. The black landscape around it looks almost like the surface of another planet.