A new look at an old favorite for adventure lovers: La Paz, Mexico

For our last night in La Paz, Mexico, we kept things simple: a couple of cans of cold Pacifico, a bench on the Malecón, the city’s waterfront, and the sunset glowing orange over the shimmering silver-blue Sea of ​​Cortez . . My husband, Alex, and I had spent nearly a week taking scenic desert drives and lazy city strolls, visiting beautiful beaches and mountains, and enjoying a steady diet of fish tacos and mezcalitas. But now we were covered in salt and sinking into a blissful tiredness that only comes after a day spent scuba diving.

La Paz is the capital of Baja California Sur, the Mexican state where some are located 42% of the territory and waters are protected natural areas, and the city is located on the Sea of ​​Cortez, also known as the Gulf of California, considered one of the most diverse marine environments in the world. Travelers have long been drawn to the region’s beautiful open spaces, a distinctive mix of ocean and red-hued desert, to spend days not only diving, but also sailing, kayaking, fishing, kite surfing, mountain biking, camping and hiking.

In recent years, the city has maintained its strong commitment to environmental conservation but has also welcomed new restaurants and accommodations, satisfying a growing desire among many travelers to Mexico for authentic experiences found beyond the walls of a massive resort.

“This is an adventure destination,” said Luz Maria Zepeda, director of the city’s tourism board. “We want people who want to explore, who want to preserve the environment as it is and who will help us protect it.”

With around 300,000 inhabitants, La Paz has a decidedly laid-back vibe – “The Peace,” it is aptly named – and is often overshadowed by Los Cabos, a municipality at the southernmost tip of the state that includes San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, as well as tiny Todos Santos, an elegant destination for art and food on the Pacific coast.

In fact, while La Paz recorded a record of 600,000 tourists in 2023, Los Cabos – only through cruises and flights – welcomes 3 million travelers every year.

La Paz’s relatively modest number of visitors is, in part, a question of access: La Paz Airport serves almost exclusively domestic destinations, with direct flights mainly from Mexico City and Guadalajara. Most international visitors choose to fly into the larger Los Cabos International Airport and take a two- to three-hour drive to La Paz.

The drive from the airport is also worth it, with routes running along the Pacific coast through Todos Santos and El Pescadero, home to Playa Los Cerritos, a popular surfing destination. A slightly longer, but epically beautiful journey winds through the Sierra The Laguna mountain range.

La Paz is a walkable city with good roads and ample amenities. It has no large resorts, and there are currently no plans to build any: This is not a destination with aspirations of mimicking the all-inclusive, touristy spring vibes long associated with Cabo. Instead of a waterfront dominated by limited private access, La Paz features the Malecón, which was renovated in 2020 and 2021. Last April, the construction of a large cruise ship port was proposed withdrawn after local pushback.

“We don’t want mass tourism,” said Ivan Félix, director of the tours and travel department of the La Paz tourism board. “The idea is not to grow in numbers, but in quality”.

This has resulted in a large number of smaller, higher-end hotel openings: Hotel Indigoformer Costabaja Resort & Spa, was renovated and reopened by IHG in December and Pagan Republic, an adults-only boutique hotel with a rooftop bar and restaurant, welcomed its first guests in January. Grupo Habita opened the Baja Club Hotel in an old colonial villa in 2021 on the Malecón. Hilton plans to complete a renovation of the historic Hotel La Perlafirst opened in 1940, later this year.

This sophisticated growth can also be found in the city’s culinary scene, which continues to be dominated by the region’s fresh seafood, flour tortillas, and ranch favorites like meat-filled molcajetes and snack-size burritos. Fried fish tacos remain loyal, from street stalls to casual restaurants like Taco Fish La Paz (featured in the Netflix series “Taco Chronicles”) e Totò Fritowhere you can try grown sustainably totoaba, a fish native to the Sea of ​​Cortez. We feasted on a variety of chilaquiles Maria California, a popular brunch spot, and inhaled spicy shrimp aguachile at a beach stand in Playa El Tecolote, just north of Balandra. TO Los 32 Saboresa memorable dinner of manta ray and tripe tacos on fresh tortillas and Caesar salads prepared tableside hinted at the city’s ambition to become an authentic food and wine destination.

Gratitude coffee pots, a coffee shop a few blocks from the Malecón, was opened by husband and wife Sergio Hernández and Gloria Olivera in 2022. The couple works closely with Mexican coffee farmers, ensuring quality beans and fair labor practices, and hosts art works art exhibitions and events at their bar. In recent years they have noticed a marked change in the restaurant scene.

“It’s definitely developing. There are a lot of people from the mainland who come here and open restaurants. You can find a lot more things to do,” said Mr. Hernández, originally from Mexico City.

Some of this diversity can be found nearby Tiger Club, which serves Southeast Asian dishes and natural wine. The restaurant is housed on the back patio Nopal Househas showroom and a shop specializing in products handmade by Mexican artisans, both opening in 2022. Nearby, Sunrise Sunset it is a natural wine shop open in December. Nemi offers reworks of traditional dishes, which might include fresh fish served raw or topped with hoja santa butter, confit duck flour tortillas, or pork belly served with beans and nopales. The restaurant is the first solo project of Alejandro Villagomez, who moved in 2011 from Mexico City where he was Pujol’s chef de Cuisine.

“La Paz is a magical place,” Mr. Villagomez said. “We are surrounded by sea and desert and strive to find the best ingredients both in and out of town.”

However, despite all the noteworthy new hotels and restaurants, the natural world remains La Paz’s main attraction. Chrissy Cappellano, a certified master scuba diver trainer from Long Island, New York, has lived in the city since 2018.

“You have to plan multiple trips to see everything,” he said of the area’s rich marine life. “There is a time that is good for whale sharks, for whales, for sea lions.”

I met Ms. Chaplain when she conducted our day dive with Carey Dive Center which included a surprise sighting of humpback whales and a swim with them whale sharks, the large-mouthed filter-feeding fish that can grow up to 30 feet. The rest of the day was spent around the islands of Espírito Santo and Partida – the archipelago is part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, a national park and is a 45-minute journey from the city – diving around a protected colony of sea lions called Los Islotes. The marine mammals did not hesitate to approach our group, performing somersaults and, in some cases, biting fins and whips. Perhaps equally spectacular were the schools of sardines, glinting silver in the sun as they swirled around us like confetti.

Caring for the environment is a common talking point on dive trips I’ve taken elsewhere in Mexico and around the world; here, it was an actionable part of the agenda. Daily access to whale sharks, which migrate to feed in the waters just outside the city, is limited to a limited number of tourist boats at set times. As we boarded our boat after our first dive in Los Islotes, someone spotted a sea lion pup that had been injured by a fish hook. Ms. Cappellano quickly sent photos and videos to Rescue of Lobos Marinos, an organization that helps monitor and care for sea lions. Carey also emphasized providing reusable water bottles for the day. (The state as a whole has strictly limited single-use plastics since 2018.)

It’s not hard to understand how and why visitors fall in love with these cobalt waters and why local residents are so protective of them. The Espiritu Santo is a geological layer cake carved with countless small anchors, beloved by sailors and fishing enthusiasts. But there is also a lot to explore on the mainland: the island is a popular destination for hiking and glamping Playa Balandra, famous for its white sand and shallow turquoise waters, is consistently named one of the most beautiful beaches in the country. Easily reachable within a 20-minute drive from the city centre, it is also a conservation area and limits the number of visitors allowed per day, with timed entries at 8am and 1pm. La Ventana, 40 minutes away by car, is a famous kitesurfing destination. There’s also mountain biking, dune buggying, hiking and camping.

“You can choose a beach depending on the wind. There are waterfalls and hot springs. Every sunset here is usually amazing,” Ms. Cappellano said. “There is so much nature to enjoy.”

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By James Brown

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