Trip to Baja California: What to See Between Archaeology and the Ocean

La Baja California is a peninsula in Mexico, long and narrow (1,250 km in length with a maximum width of 200) located south of American California. It is one of the most untouched areas on the planet (according to a 2015 estimate, the second least populated country in the world) with low population density, almost entirely concentrated in a few cities, vast desert spaces, and nature fortunately still intact.

Separated from the rest of Mexico two million years ago, it has volcanic mountains running parallel to the coast which in the north reach 3,000 meters in height, long plains near the coasts (the largest are on the Pacific side), and a large central desert area, which in turn includes two important protected areas, the Valle de los Cirios and the Desierto del Vizcaino, unique ecosystems in the world that host endemic plants and animals.

Lower California Norte and Lower California Sur

It is divided into two regions, Lower California Norte and Lower California Sur, following the Mexican-American war that in the mid-19th century cost Mexico the loss of Texas, New Mexico, and Upper California. Only thanks to the determination and sacrifice of the Mexican people was it impossible for the United States to also occupy the peninsula. At the end of the war, Lower California was divided into two territories, each with its own government and capital, the capital of the North is Mexicali (although Tijuana is the better known city) and the capital of the South is La Paz.

Lower California Sur

From a naturalistic point of view, Lower California Sur is characterized by the presence of large mountain ranges. Sierra de La Giganta, not far from the historic colonial town of Loreto, is one of the least explored areas of the Lower California but is well worth visiting.

Characterized by the presence of endemic plants and animals such as the Borrego (the Desert Bighorn, unfortunately endangered), it also boasts a notable archaeological area, UNESCO World Heritage, rich with extraordinary rock paintings perfectly preserved, visitable on foot or on muleback, starting from a small timeless mountain village, along enchanting canyons. Another important mountain range rises further south and reaches 2,080 meters in height. Sierra de la Laguna, Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage, is a complex and unique ecosystem in the world for its extreme climatic variety, quickly moving from arid temperatures and desert landscapes to oases with palms and bodies of water, up to cool and humid areas characterized by broadleaf forests, oaks, and evergreen pines. In the Sierra, there are also small hot spring oases amidst untouched nature.

Vizcaino Desert

The Vizcaino Desert, which spans the entire central part of the peninsula, from the Sea of Cortez to the Pacific, constitutes one of the most important protected areas of Lower California Sur and is one of the largest biospheres in the world. Crossing it along the road from Santa Rosalia inland, you can see the outlines of three ancient extinct volcanoes, known as Les tres Virgenes (El Viejo, El Azufre, and El Virgen) whose last eruption, recorded in the memories of a Jesuit father, dates back to 1746.

This area is the natural habitat of five hundred plant species, four amphibians, forty-three reptiles, two hundred bird species, and more than fifty mammals found only in this area. Endemism is due not only to isolation but also to specific climatic conditions. In these arid zones, the fauna is limited to small mammals such as the hare, kangaroo rat, and coyote, reptiles like the feared rattlesnake, many birds, and insects. But it is enough to move higher and northward, where there is more vegetation and cooler temperature, to encounter the puma, the red lynx, and other wild felines, the mule deer, the bighorn sheep, the pronghorn, and many other animals. Among the endemic plants, the Vizcaino is characterized by the presence of a plant with curious shapes, the Fouquieria columnaris, commonly called Cirio, which can reach a height of 20 meters.

Desert Plants of Lower California Sur

Many of the numerous desert plants of Lower California Sur are of interest to botanists and enthusiasts. Some of these cacti, due to their rarity and uniqueness, have a certain commercial value, which is why they are protected by laws. The most common cacti are the cardones (Pachycereus pringlei Britton & Rose) with their distinctive candelabra shape, which can reach a height of 15 meters. They are millennial cacti, considering they grow only one centimeter per year and only after a century of age can they bloom. Seeing the desert in bloom is an exciting spectacle, even more so when you consider how much time and struggle these plants have endured before reaching maturity and providing the numerous little hummingbirds that live here with the nectar they feed on.

But Lower California Sur also has a lusher tropical aspect. The temperature difference that characterizes the Pacific coasts, cooler compared to those of the Sea of Cortez, makes these coasts very green, rich in shady palm groves. The plains along both coasts have a decidedly pleasant average annual temperature of about 22 degrees, with a dry climate except for summer, which is very hot and, in September, also humid due to heavy rains that hit the peninsula.

If the terrestrial desert beauties may not excite everyone (you have to be attentive observers to grasp their hidden wonder), the same cannot be said for the sea, which bursts with life and represents the obvious reason for the large tourist flow that floods these shores every year.

Lower California Sur: the Beaches

Untouched beaches, white or golden, crystal-clear waters, shells, all kinds of colorful tropical fish, mantas, sea turtles, and dolphins delight bathers. The peninsula is also rich in islands and desert islets, three large ones on the Pacific side and many smaller ones in the Gulf of California, some of which are part of enchanting marine parks that can be visited by boat where you can dive or snorkel to admire the abundance and variety of marine life. Many lagoons, estuaries, and mangroves also form another fascinating and very rich ecosystem.

Lower California Sur: the Gray Whale

The star of these seas is undoubtedly the gray whale. At the end of September or the beginning of October, these large mammals begin their migration, leaving the icy Alaska to reach these warm waters around early January. Here they begin their courtship rituals and give birth to calves conceived the previous year. During the longest migration known, they never stop, traveling 16,000 kilometers day and night until reaching the coasts of Lower California. Almost aware that here humans do not represent a danger, they approach boats carrying small groups of curious tourists, who are moved to tears when these marine giants show appreciation with water spouts for scratches on their backs and noses and lock one of their large primitive eyes, mysteriously full of sympathy and understanding, into the emotional human eyes.

Since the first gentle contact between a whale and a human, which took place back in 1977, the Mexican government has promoted a farsighted campaign for the protection and conservation of the marine and terrestrial habitat of these mammals, so essential for their feeding and reproduction. Through the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, laws have been enacted and strict regulations established for whale watching, granting permits to only a limited number of small boats, determining the distance and speed to maintain during approach, prohibiting the use of sonar and probes to locate them, fishing, and any aquatic and aerial activity in the protected area to avoid any disturbance during mating or calving.

This policy, which has also yielded economic benefits by promoting tourism activities, has led to the successful conservation of the species, and this year the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas, which conducted the census of gray whales, celebrated the birth of 14 calves and, more generally, between Ojo de Liebre lagoon and San Ignacio lagoon, recorded the presence of as many as 830 cetaceans, including 268 calves and 562 adult females.

Gray whales are just one species among those that annually migrate to the waters of southern California. A couple of months earlier, in November, humpback whales also arrive, the greatest singers, albeit without vocal cords, of the Ocean. They come from British Columbia, Washington State, and Northern California. Along with blue whales and other cetaceans, they can be seen swimming by boat from various coastal locations of Baja Sur, where they stay for several months each year.

Lower California Sur: Visiting the Marine Parks

Other thrills, and not only emotional ones, are reserved for sperm whale sightings, whale sharks but especially sharks, in the most successful marine park of the Western Hemisphere: Cabo Pulmo. The park hosts as many as 6,000 marine species living along the largest coral reef in North America. An unmissable place for anyone who loves the sea, it amazes diving and snorkeling enthusiasts with swirling schools of fish of all shapes and sizes, mobulas, sea turtles, and even tiny, bizarre, and colorful nudibranchs.

What to do in Baja California

Baja California Travel, exclusive tour operator

In this corner of earthly paradise, specifically in the town of La Paz, is located Baja California Travel, a tour operator specialized in Self Drive trips. Born more out of a passionate love for the territory than a planned business strategy, it offers tourists a service that did not exist: fully autonomous trips in the Lower South California, both in SUVs and off-road vehicles.

The project owes much to the adventurous and exploratory spirit of its founder, a brave Roman entrepreneur who, captivated by the beauties of the peninsula and its vast open spaces, not only impulsively relocated there, giving a new direction to his life, but also visited every corner of it, thoroughly learning all aspects to promote knowledge and share this passion with his guests, safely. The itineraries of Baja California Travel indeed do not exclude the most frequented locations, which offer the thrill of reliving a distant and exotic past. Visits to the ancient missions of the Jesuit fathers that arose amid dust, the cities with Spanish colonial architecture founded in the 17th century, the mining towns where the excitement of the gold rush is still felt, or stops on the most beautiful beaches in all of Mexico, are accompanied by the most intimate and moving experience of unmissable natural jewels, including unknown, remote, or secret ones.

Thanks to detailed travel materials including maps, accurate descriptions, and GPS tracks of annually verified routes—because here weather agents (storm surges, winds, and the heavy rains of September) can quickly change the face of a place—and thanks to constant telephone assistance, guests of Baja California Travel can venture into the most beautiful and untouched territories of the peninsula, in the desert and along pastel-colored canyons, reach tiny fishing villages, surprising oases rich in spring waters and palm groves, discover ancient testimonies of indigenous populations, and stop in villages where people still live according to ancient ways and rhythms, and where the hospitality, simplicity, and good humor of this lovely population is, if possible, even more appreciable.

Planned based on the needs of travelers, their tastes and expectations, the choice of driven vehicle, and the driver’s experience, the itineraries of Baja California Travel will suit you perfectly and make your vacation a unique and unforgettable experience.

Besides historic cities, remote places, marine parks—an invaluable resource of this peninsula—and the extraordinary contact with whales, Baja California Travel also offers visitors the chance to enrich the Self Drive experience with small guided tours, lasting from two to four days, to stay in the desert, in areas without connectivity and any accommodation facilities. Thanks to expert staff and suitable equipment, composed of comfortable tents, cots with cushions and mats, field kitchen, water tank for personal hygiene, you will travel along mountain routes, deserted islands, abandoned missions, oases, forests of millenary cacti, ancient waterfalls and riverbeds, and above all, vast, beautiful, deserted beaches lapped by crystal-clear turquoise waters teeming with life. Here, camps will be set up for the night, in absolute silence broken only by the waves, under star-filled skies, where around the fire you can pleasantly share a little life and experiences, in a stay fully respectful of such a pure but fragile environment that will leave traces only in your hearts.