San Ignacio Lagoon
Santuario De Ballenas (CONANP) / Patrimonio Mundial · Mulegé, Baja California Sur
A shallow lagoon on the Pacific side of Baja California Sur where grey whales come to give birth after swimming ten thousand kilometres from the Bering Sea, and where something happens that happens nowhere else: the whales come to the boats on purpose. Mothers push their calves against the hulls to be touched and rubbed. It began in 1972 when a local fisherman let a curious whale approach instead of rowing away, and it has been repeated every winter since. A century earlier this same lagoon was a killing ground where whalers nearly finished the species. The lagoon is part of the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO site, and is reached by 60 km of washboard dirt road from San Ignacio town. The season is roughly mid-January to mid-April and there is nothing here outside it. Camps are small, remote and expensive, so book months ahead, pack for cold wind, and expect basic facilities, no signal and long silent hours on the water.
Laguna San Ignacio, Reserva El Vizcaíno, Mulegé, Baja California Sur, 23930, Mexico
⚠⚠ STRICTLY SEASONAL - THE WHALE SEASON RUNS ROUGHLY MID-JANUARY TO MID-APRIL and the camps operate only in that window. Outside it the grey whales are in the Arctic, the camps are struck and there is nothing here. ⚠ ACCESS IS THROUGH LICENSED CAMPS AND OPERATORS ONLY, regulated by CONANP inside the El Vizcaíno reserve - boat numbers, approach distance and time on the water are all limited. ⚠ TRIPS RUN TWICE DAILY, roughly 90 minutes to two hours in open pangas; mornings are calmer. ⚠ THE CAMPS BOOK OUT MONTHS AHEAD and there is no walk-up. ⚠ THE LAGOON IS 60 KM OF UNPAVED ROAD FROM SAN IGNACIO TOWN, 1.5 to 2 hours. ⚠ NO PHONE SIGNAL, NO WIFI, NO ATM, NO SHOP, NO MAINS POWER AND NO MEDICAL FACILITIES - bring cash and medication. ⚠ TOUCH ONLY IF THE WHALE COMES TO YOU, never near the blowhole or eyes. ⚠ DATES, HOURS AND PRICES NOT VERIFIED FOR THIS FILE.
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