The archipelago was the site of a pre-Columbian culture from which you can still see a large number of petroglyphs, with figures of birds, monkeys or people. Numerous pre-Columbian archaeological pieces have been found that are exhibited in museums in Mancarrón and in San Fernando islands.

Due to its size and population, the main islands are Mancarrón, Mancarroncito, San Fernando and La Venada. The principal economic activities are agriculture, artisanal fishing, primitivist painting, handicrafts, and tourism. Freshwater sharks, and other marine species inhabit both the lake and the San Juan River, and also include sawfishes and shad (Megalops atlanticus). An important international fishing competition is held every year.

Thanks to the impulse of the poet Father Cardenal, who founded a contemplative community, and rebuilt a church where the internationally famous testimonial music “Peasant Mass or Misa Campesina,” was heard for the first time, the Solentiname archipelago has become the residence of many artists, and the headquarters of a primitive pictorial movement with its own characteristics.