Estelí (Spanish pronunciation: [esteˈli]), officially Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí is a city and municipality within the Estelí department. It is the 8th largest city in Nicaragua due to the high urbanization of its municipality, at 84.8%, with an urban population of 111,244 (2022 estimate). It is also the eighth-largest municipality, and an active commercial center in the north, known as "the Diamond of the Segovia" (this name being created by Oscar Corea Molina in his radio show "Trampolin 43”) and the de facto capital of the north.

Estelí is on the Pan-American Highway, 150 km north of Managua. It enjoys a temperate 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 first settlement of what would become the City of Estelí occurred in Villa Vieja in 1685. It was founded by a group of Spaniards fleeing Nueva Segovia which at that time suffered from pirate attacks. Villa Vieja was then replaced by a new settlement (San Antonio de Pavia) from where the city of Estelí has grown. Today there is evidence of the first church in the Villa Vieja sector of the city.

The town is described in 1858 as "a little town in a small plain through which winds the river of the same name..." It is described as having a grist-mill and that "the country produces considerable wheat of medium quality." Estelí was described in 1920 as having 8,000 inhabitants and as being a rich and growing center.

Estelí was the scene of heavy fighting in the civil war against the Somoza government from 1978 to 1979. The city was heavily air-bombed by the regime's National Guard and burnt by the FSLN guerrillas, which reduced many of the city's buildings to rubble. 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. Estelí rebuilt all but some structures, such as the Teatro Montenegro and the Government Palace, and a few may still show bullet holes.

The land around Estelí has a suitable climate for growing tobacco for use in cigars, and the town became a refuge for Cuban cigar makers after the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Estelí is one of the most important cigar-producing cities in the world.^{[citation needed]} Estelí also has many language schools. Restaurants and hotels cater to tourists traveling to nearby natural reserves and other parts of the region. Natural Reserves around the area include Miraflor, Tisey-Estanzuela, Las Brisas-Quiabuc, Tomabú, Tepesomoto, and Moropotente.

According to the World Bank and International Finance Corporation's Municipal Scorecard 2008, which complements the annual Doing Business report, the municipality of Estelí ranks 1st and 2nd, out of 143 municipalities in ten Latin American countries, in quality and efficiency to obtain a construction permit and municipal operating license respectively. Estelí has improved its performance from the Municipal Scorecard 2007, where it ranked 5th out of 65 municipalities in five countries.

Estelí has near-full population coverage with its water-supply system. It also has extensive sewage disposal coverage.