Although there is debate as to the origin of the name, Jinotega is colloquially known as "The City of Mists" (Ciudad de la Brumas) for the magnificent whisks of clouds continuously feathering through the top of the valley.

Jinotega is bordered to the The climate is subtropical and tropical in the high valleys, dry in summer, rainy in winter and cool in the mountains.

According to historian Eddy Kühl Aráuz, the name Jinotega does not come from the Nahuatl language, since the indigenous people of this area (Jinotega, Matagalpa and Muy Muy) spoke the Misumalpa language, as they were not of Mesoamerican origin like the Mangues (Chorotegas) and the Nahua peoples who inhabited the Pacific area of present-day Nicaragua.

According to the German linguist Walter Lehmann, the language of the indigenous people of Jinotega and Matagalpa belonged to the Macro-Chibcha family.

The chroniclers listed the first possible inhabitants of the central and northern part of the country as one or more of the following: The government of Jinotega consisted of a king who was advised by a council of elders.

The indigenous people of Jinotega wove their clothes using cotton, the bark fibers of certain trees, as well as leather, all colored with inks and dyes extracted from local plants and animals.

Professor Harvey Wells (1932-2009), a respected local educator and historian who taught at Colegio La Salle in Jinotega, claimed that when the Spanish colonization began in 1524, roughly 75% of the indigenous peoples of north central Nicaragua were part of the early immigration from Mexico and for that reason, he believed that Jinotega has its roots in the capital of the Mexica people, in Tenochtitlán.

Juan chose Saint John the Baptist as patron spirit at the city's center, the place that is today the central park where the town hall is located.

By 1731 there were some permanent Spanish surnames listed in the census, like Gadea, Duarte, Altamirano, Castro, Alburquerque, and Fray Juan de Zeledon.

In July 1872, the scientist Thomas Belt left Santo Domingo de Chontales in search of miners for the Nueva Segovia gold mines near the Honduran border.

Later, at the end of the 1970s, Jinotega was a key battleground in the bitter war between the troops of Anastasio Somoza Debayle and the civilian rebel population.

In 1981, the mountainous area of the department was again the scene of a fratricidal war, this time between the Contras and carried out bloodily by the FSLN, emerging from anti-communist sentiment and dissatisfaction with the corruption of Sandino's government, continuing the Nicaraguan Revolution.

The basic grains (corn, beans, and wheat), vegetables (tomato, lettuce, onion, cabbage, parsley, radish, celery, broccoli, potatoes, taro, carrot, cucumber), fruit (bananas), and livestock (cattle, pigs and goats) all contribute to its economy.

One of the first and largest coffee producers in northern Nicaragua was the community of "La Fundadora" in the municipality of Jinotega run by a British man named Potter who owned these properties at the time.

The hospitable climate and the dedication of its producers have allowed Jinotega coffee to reach some of the highest levels of quality in the world.

His products included ground coffee, corn chips, and tortillas, all of which were exported throughout Central America, expertly vacuum-packed.

The distribution of domestic energy, in charge of the company Distribuidora del Norte (DISNORTE), is interconnected to the national network.