Loreto
Parque Nacional (CONANP) / Pueblo MáGico · Loreto, Baja California Sur
A small, quiet town on the Sea of Cortez in Baja California Sur, founded in 1697 as the first permanent Spanish mission settlement in the Californias. The mission church at its centre carries an inscription calling it the head and mother of the missions of Lower and Upper California, and the Jesuit chain that began here later passed to the Franciscans and Junipero Serra on the road north. In front of the town lie the islands of Bahia de Loreto National Park, part of the UNESCO-listed Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California. Behind it rise the bare Sierra de la Giganta mountains, and in the hills a mountain road leads to the beautifully kept mission of San Javier. From roughly January to March blue whales feed in the channel. Loreto is far cheaper and calmer than Los Cabos, has its own small airport, and suits visitors who want sea, history and desert without a resort crowd.
Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto, Centro, Loreto, Baja California Sur, 23880, Mexico
An open town - the plaza, the malecón and the mission forecourt are free. The Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto is a working church with a museum beside it, keeping daytime hours and generally closing Mondays. ⚠ THE ISLANDS ARE INSIDE BAHÍA DE LORETO NATIONAL PARK, part of the UNESCO-listed Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California - ⚠ A CONANP BRACELET IS REQUIRED and boats leave from the town beach and marina. ⚠ BLUE WHALE SEASON RUNS ROUGHLY FEBRUARY TO APRIL and is a completely different trip from the grey whale lagoons on the Pacific side - do not confuse them when booking. ⚠ WINTER NORTH WINDS CANCEL BOAT DAYS: allow three days if whales are the reason you came. ⚠ APPROACH RULES FOR WHALES AND SEA LIONS ARE ENFORCED. ⚠ MISIÓN SAN JAVIER IS 1.5 HOURS INLAND ON A NOW-PAVED MOUNTAIN ROAD. ⚠ HIGHWAY 1 IS TWO LANES WITH NO SHOULDER AND FREE-RANGING CATTLE - do not drive it after dark. ⚠ HOURS AND PRICES NOT VERIFIED FOR THIS FILE.