It enjoys a pleasant climate most of the year due to its location in the north central highlands at a mean elevation of 844 m (2769 ft) above sea level.

The city is also surrounded by forested mountains of pines, oaks, and walnuts, and plateaus up to 1600 m above sea level, some of which are protected as natural reserves.

The human casualties were around 15,000; many of them were youths massacred on suspicion of being part of the insurrection due to the infiltration of anti-government guerillas from the Pacific of Nicaragua whom used the city as a war theater.

Natural Reserves around the area include Miraflor, Tisey-Estanzuela, Las Brisas-Quiabuc, Tomabú, Tepesomoto, and Moropotente.

One of the first airfields documented played the role of alternate airport from 1930 to 1934 when TACA established the service to carry passengers with an El Salvador-Tegucigalpa-Danli-Ocotal-Esteli-Managua route.

La Thompson, which is three miles north of Estelí, is where the second airstrip was built and used by a company named "Thonsson Corwell" to help complete a stretch of the Pan-American Highway.

[10] In 1950 there was a proposal to create a railroad branch from Esteli to Matagalpa which would eventually connect the city to other parts of the country including Prinzapolka Port in the Caribbean and Managua.

There's a high consumption of milk products like smoked or spicy cheeses like ahumado and picante, and regional corn-based dishes like delicious montucas, salty-sour repochetas, and semi-sweet güirilas.

For breakfast, chorizo, refried beans, sour cream, and home-made style bread are more common and black coffee is the king of drinks any time of the day.