Top 10 things to do and see in Guerrero Negro

Been to Guerrero Negro? Do you know about its national and global importance for the production of salt? Would you like to meet this interesting place in Baja California Sur?

Guerrero Negro is a South Californian town located on the 38th parallel of the northern hemisphere, which separates the two Mexican states that share the Baja California peninsula. It has a legendary history around salt and its lagoon is one of the most important ecosystems in Mexico.

Here are the top 10 places to see and things to do in Guerrero Negro:

1. Get to know the Guerrero Negro salt mine

Mexico is the world’s eighth largest producer of salt with nine million metric tons and almost all production comes from the Guerrero Negro salt mine, the largest in the world.

Only a little over 60,000 tons of Guerrero Negro salt is table salt. More than eight million tons is industrial salt, marketed by the Japanese corporation Mitsubishi for the production of manganese, fertilizers and silicon components for the computer industry.

The salt company belongs 51% to the Mexican nation and the remaining 49% belongs to Mitsubishi.

The production center revolves around the Ojo de Liebre lagoon, a space with the perfect conditions to produce salt in an inexhaustible way.

Ojo de Liebre and its surroundings combine the proximity of the sea and an ancient sea bed, a desert environment with almost zero rainfall, intense solar radiation and favorable winds, making the place an endless source of salt by evaporation.

2. Meet the gray whale

Ojo de Liebre and its surroundings are also a large ecosystem, essential for the preservation of the gray whale.

This whale, which can reach 20 tons in weight and 15 meters in length, is the most sacrificed traveler among all the animals that migrate to Mexico.

They have to travel more than 10,000 km from the Arctic to the calm and warm waters of Baja California to mate and reproduce. That is why Ojo de Liebre is a sanctuary for this species.

Among the things to do in Guerrero Negro, gray whale watching is what attracts more visitors.

The sighting tours take place between December and March and in the town there are two tour operators that organize the tours:

Malarrimo Eco-Tours, on Bulevar Emiliano Zapata S/N.

Mario’s Tours, at km 217.3 of the Transpeninsular Highway.

Likewise, Guerrero Negro is part of the El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve, a protected area crucial for the life of several species at risk of extinction, including the pronghorn or American antelope, one of the fastest land animals, capable of reaching nearly 100 KPH.

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3. Visit the marshes of Guerrero Negro

This is a wonderful and varied ecosystem that is also considered a Natural World Heritage Site as it forms part of the Biosphere Natural Reserve, located in the beautiful Bay of Biscayne. It is easily accessible and extends through the Guerrero Negro and Ojo de Liebre lagoons.

Being a place where both salt water and fresh water are found, you can find a diversity of marine species such as fish, crabs, octopus, clams, mussels, dolphins, etc.

There are also many birds, approximately 95 species, of which 65 are migratory. Even, in some seasons of the year, 173 species of birds have been sighted.

In this ecosystem you will see a beautiful and magnificent vegetation that is capable of surviving the conditions generated by salt water, which has allowed the conservation of this imposing natural space.

All these gifts that nature has given to the marshes of Guerrero make it a space that you can photograph, that way you will enjoy its biological richness in each image and whenever you want.

If you are a sports lover, the marshes that are located in Guerrero Negro are ideal for you to go hiking or to practice kayaking and cycling.

4. Dunas de la Soledad: walk through this spectacular sand desert

Within the El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve, 10 km from the town of Guerrero Negro, are the Dunas de la Soledad, a dazzling space in which the ocher tones of the earth contrast wonderfully with the blues of the sea and the sky.

The capricious wind changes the profiles of the dunes, which apart from their beauty, constitute a protective barrier against floods that could be triggered during hurricanes.

The dunes are on the route to the gray whale sanctuaries and despite their totally desert environment, some species (such as birds and crabs) venture to live in their environment.

Among the things to do in Guerrero Negro, the tour of the Dunas de la Soledad will make you feel amazed at how great nature can be through a simple meeting of sea and sand.

5. Guerrero Negro has beautiful hotels

Guerrero Negro has some hotels that will provide you with a simple and quiet stay, to get to know the attractions of the city and its surroundings.

One of them is the Hotel Los Caracoles, located on the Calzada de la República. It is a clean place, with affordable rates and a reliable Internet service . Next door to the hotel is the Nautilus restaurant (praised for its food) and a 24-hour flea market.

While the Malarrimo Motel is located on Bulevar Emiliano Zapata 12 in Guerrero Negro and is an establishment with basic, comfortable, clean and affordable services. The restaurant’s cuisine is excellently seasoned, the seafood is fresh and delicious, and the staff is very friendly.

6. The most beautiful flowers of Guerrero Negro: admire the Mexican tulips

The genus tulipa, to which the beautiful and colorful tulips belong, has about 150 species. Its shades of red, pink, orange and yellow are present almost everywhere in the world, provided there is good sun.

This flower is native to Asia Minor, from where it was taken to the Iberian Peninsula by the Muslims and from Spain to America with the conquerors.

The name “tulip” comes from the word “tulbend”, which in the Turkish-Ottoman language means “turban” alluding to the shape of the closed flower.

Since they don’t require a lot of water, the tulips adapted very well to Baja California, where the sun shines brightly.

Through the streets of Guerrero Negro you can admire these beautiful flowers, in intense reds that you will hardly see anywhere else.

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7. Photograph the unique Nests of the Ospreys

The osprey ( Pandion haliaetus ) is a protected bird of prey. The majesty of the eagle has been culturally associated with power and royalty and this species was named after Pandion I, fifth king of Athens according to Greek mythology.

These birds have the curious characteristic that their outer fingers are reversible, which allows them to more easily catch fish, their main source of food.

Although they are not at risk of extinction, ospreys receive special treatment in Guerrero Negro.

The Mexican Army, in a conservation effort, places bases on the upper ends of the posts so that the birds can build their nests with the branches and natural materials that they bring from the desert.

In the marshes of Guerrero Negro it is common to see these birds feeding their young with the little fish that they catch with their unique claws.

8. Places of interest in Guerrero Negro: visit the Old Lighthouse

The old lighthouse that was erected in the oldest area of Guerrero Negro and a dilapidated warehouse that is next to it and that served as a salt deposit.

Those spaces were two of the main locations of the film Bajo la Sal, a film in which a serial killer took advantage of the salt of the place to hide his victims there.

The Old Lighthouse is on the shore of the lagoon and its function was to guide the barges that transported the salt during the beginning of the exploitation in the 1950s.

Visit the Old Lighthouse and take a photo, so that you have a postcard from Guerrero Negro with a cinematographic testimony.

9. Admire the cave paintings in Guerrero Negro

About 90 km to the east of Guerrero Negro, in the Sierras de San Francisco and Santa Martha, there are magnificent deposits of cave paintings and petroglyphs that are 10,000 years old.

The cave paintings are in a perfect state of conservation and apart from the INAH permit (65 pesos for adults), you have to pay for the guides, the cost of which depends on the destination.

These rock art sites are located at various points in the Santa Teresa Canyon and the San Pablo Canyon, which are more difficult to access. The trip takes between four and six hours on the back of a mule from the starting point in the mountains. You can go on foot, but you have to be in excellent physical shape.

10. Delight in observing the placid sea lions

There is possibly no nicer thing to do in Guerrero Negro than to spot the comfortable sea lions, always delighted to sunbathe comfortably.

Despite their apparent laziness, these animals, which can reach up to a ton in weight, are capable of swimming at 40 KPH and submerging almost 200 meters in search of food, remaining underwater for up to 40 minutes.

They do not often cry out of sadness as a legend points out. What happens is that they remove excess salt water from the eyes through the tear ducts.

The tourist operators of Guerrero Negro can take you to observe the placid sea lions sunning themselves on the buoys of the salt mine.

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