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 Baja California Sur gives you one of the rare places in the world where the sea joins the ocean, then it gets wider and grows, taking you through fantastic deserts and mountains.
Spine full of mysteries, the peninsula shows in its southern area its natural beauty with modern tourist facilities to receive anyone who wants to live an adventure. To start a tour there, you can choose between Los Cabos and La Paz, North or South, as you like, anyway you will always remember the sensation of having discovered the true sense of life. Now you will go from the calmness of La Paz, the Capital of the State, to the intense amusement of Los Cabos to show you the biggest contrasts.
Immerse Yourself In A Pacific Life Style
La Paz lies on an ample bay of the Sea of Cortes and offers you its provincial beauty to invite you to be part of the city and its peaceful life. It is a nice place with picturesque streets, a dream green plaza and an oceanfront where life goes by nicely. Its greatest attraction are its beaches, most of them still virgin and under vigilance of hills and mountains full of cacti forests.
This is an ideal site to go fishing in open sea; the most common species from March to September are Albacore, yellow fin, tuna fish, dorado and sierra, among others. A tour to the Holy Spirit Island will show you the turquoise bays where you can dive or explore. You can also visit the sea wolf colonies that take refuge in the Partida Island or play with dolphins and thousands of tropical fish in the clear waters.
On land, safety helmet cyclists will enjoy "La Vuelta al Cabo" (tour around the Cabo) a 460-kilometer (285-mile) tour that can be as amusing as spectacular. As well as the paths that come out from La Paz offer you ample cross-country running areas. Back again in the sea, it is recommended to go sailing or windsurfing, because there are excellent winds here. La Paz has been shelter for marines for 400 years and nowadays has excellent marinas.
If you do not travel by plane, travel by ship. There are departures from Mazatlan and Topolobampo.
High Contrast : "Sierra De La Laguna"
On the extreme meridian of the peninsula of Baja California, you will find a area declared Reserve of the Biosphere since 1994. "Sierra de la Laguna" is site with great natural wealth, appropriate for hikers. It catches your eye mainly because the desert contrasts with the rocky landscape. There are two types of landscapes: one with thistles, "biznaga", "tarote" plants and steely sticks in the low areas; the other one with holm oak tree and holm oak-pine tree forests in the high areas. Tours of the area will show you wildlife, such as hare, gray fox, roadrunner and deer; luckily you will see lynx, hawk, sparrow hawk, eagle and other birds. There is plenty of quail, that is why they are the most important hunting birds in the peninsula.
Going in high Sierras, be smart and carefully, they can be a great adventure. It is recommended that you hire a tour guide in the town of Miraflores.
Cave Painting Art
All along the peninsula, where the cordillera is, you will find interesting samples or cave painting art. The amazing murals in the painted caves in Santa Clara Canyon, where you can see hundreds of figures expanded over a 160-meter long gallery of a vertical cliff. The painted figures are colossal, people say that they were made by giants, but some prints of the artists' hand and small carved stone drawings have been found in there. Most of the paintings evoke man, deer, bird, sea animal figures and scenes everyday life.
Los Cabos, The Adventure's Corridor
In the south area, San Jose and San Lucas, Los Cabos, the most famous in the peninsula, are waiting for you at the ends of a 33-kilometer (20-mile) corridor that has everything for the demanding tourist.
San Jose del Cabo is a beautiful and historic City that dates back to 1730 that was the old shelter of the China Nao. Its original name was Agua Segura (Safe Water). In the Sixteenth Century, it was named San Bernabe and later, San Jose del Cabo. Among its attractions, its beautiful beaches are important and a pretty places full of birds, reptiles and vegetation.
San Lucas, on the other hand, was a calm anglers town until its spectacular beauty was discovered and the development of its tourist corridor was planned. Now, it has everything for a fun, unforgettable, relaxing and marvelous stay. In its beaches, you will find surfing, swimming, scuba diving, sailing and windsurfing. Fishing was a sport that got Cabo on the map, for its wealthy sea life and professional operators.
The tourist corridor and the San Jose and San Lucas resorts, offer a variety of hotels and all specialties restaurants, equipment rentals and an exciting nightlife. Golf has here, incomparable golf courses, designed to take advantage from the topography and landscapes. In this area, nature offers dream beaches that go from light to dark blue tones; desert and rocky areas; tropical vegetation near streams and coastal lagoons; a submarine cascade with salt and sand, only 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the south beaches in Cabo San Lucas. In addition, one of the most important images that has traveled around the world: The Baja California Arch, end of the cordillera and symbol of the peninsula that can be visited by boat.
Whales: An Unforgettable Attraction
The Sea of Cortes and some bays of The Pacific Coast of Baja California, are the preferred sites for hundreds of whales to mate and have their cubs. In fact, they are a great attraction in the area, since sometimes waters are really full of cetaceans. Therefore, it is impossible not to see them, and even some of them let you touch them and become trip companion for tourist ships that travel around the bay on board to see them.
From the twelve species of whales in the world, eight of them can be found here: Bryde, Sei and Minke finback, the common finback or humpback whale, frank whale, gray whale and finally the blue whale, this last one is the largest in the world.
Guerrero Negro and the lagoon complex in Magdalena Bay are its natural sanctuaries. In Guerrero Negro and San Ignacio, the Vizcaino Biosphere is located, where whales have been protected since 1992, achieving a slow comeback.
If you are thinking of different vacations, in South Baja California, you are going to enjoy it a lot, it will be wonderful and you will find a delicious cuisine as well.
Baja California is a land full of challenges for those who are looking for exciting adventures and want to discover new places, such as large and extreme deserts, oasis and magnificent seas under the overwhelming sun. But that is not all, the State also has cities with an amazing urban growth, where economic, tourist and cultural activities converge. Although this is a State with strong economic as well as cultural influence from the United States of America, it has preserved its Mexican roots. One of the outstanding regions of this area, due to its services as well as its attractions, is the Tijuana-Tecate-Mexicali-Los Algodones corridor. There, natural wonders are the main attraction, with wide beaches, bays and estuaries, where water sports are available. In Baja California you will live unique, amazing and unequaled experiences that will remain forever in your memory, such as the Boojum tree, considered the most peculiar cactus of the world; the border between Tijuana and San Diego, as well as "La Bufadora" (natural marine geyser of North America). All this, in one of the three regions that have the least clouded skies in the world, where the internationally renown Cesar's Salad and Margarita Cocktail were invented.
The main tourist places, where you will find unequal beauty, unlimited fun and an unforgettable stay are Ensenada, Mexicali, San Quintin, Tecate and Tijuana, among others.
Mexicali
This is the Capital of the State and owes its name to a combination of the words Mexico and California.
Among other attractions, and regardless its desert weather, there is the lake, the lagoon and the zoo, in the margin of Nuevo River.
You can visit the shopping and the civic center, as well as the State Museum, an exciting experience.
On the Mexicali-Tijuana highway the Salada Lagoon is located, which is a unique phenomenon, where the Gulf of California waters joins the Colorado River.
Ensenada
Located 108 kilometers (67 miles) South of Tijuana, through federal highway #1, the city of Ensenada is an important tourist and trade center, which grew in the northeast part of the beautiful "Bahia de Todos los Santos". There are many attractions, such as the old mines and missions, lush vegetation and first-class tourist services.
Nowadays, Ensenada is the main summer resort in Baja California, where you can go sailing, surfing, skiing, cycling, fishing, and play golf, tennis, among other sport activities.
In the city, you must visit the Monument to Motherhood and Revolution Park.
San Quintin
Located on a peculiar bay in a "U" shape, San Quintin has been one of the main tourist attractions of Baja California, visited by thousands of fishermen, hunters and sailors every year.
A chain of small inactive volcanoes, such as the "Monte De Ceniza" (Ash Mountain) the Picacho Vizcaino and the Riveroll Mountain protect the bay's peaceful waters, good for recreational boats. Its endless beaches are plain and sandy, special for "all terrain" vehicles, such as jeeps, four-wheelers, motorcross and mountain bikes.
This bay is considered a paradise for both professional and amateur photographers due to its fascinating landscapes. Also, it is amazing for geologists, who enjoy the rocky formations that show the different pre-historic layers of the Earth.
During the fall, San Quintin becomes in an obligatory stop of the North migratory birds on their way to the south.
Tecate
Only 140 kilometers (86 miles) from Mexicali, the City of Tecate is located, home of a large beer industry, well known for having the best land for grapevine crops. About 10 kilometers (6 miles) away, you will find bathing resorts and spas, where you can participate in philosophy sessions, oriental practices and spiritual and physical services.
Tijuana
It is kwon as "the most visited city in the world" because there are more than 70 million border crossings per year. It is a city that offers many interesting places, such as the Temple of Guadalupe, in modern style; the famous Palace Fronton, where the Jai Alai is practiced and the "Agua Caliente" racetrack. There are also many rodeos and the monumental Bullfight Plaza.
Another interesting place is "Paseo de los Heroes", similar to the "Paseo de la Reforma" of Mexico City, with "glorietas" (traffic circles) and monuments in honor to national heroes.
If you like to go sightseeing, 10 kilometers (6 miles) from downtown, the beautiful Tijuana beaches are located, with soft slopes, fine sand and spectacular waves. |
