The small Sonoran town of Puerto Peñasco, on the eastern shore of the Sea of Cortez, offers you wonderful beaches, charming islets, excellent fishing grounds and impressive natural landscapes on land, so you never forget your vacation on the Sonoran coast.
These are 12 things you cannot stop doing in Puerto Peñasco.
1. Walk along the Malecón Fundadores
This boardwalk facing the Gulf of California is the main tourist and commercial corridor of Puerto Peñasco, combining shops, establishments for relaxation and entertainment, and pieces of art.
One of the emblematic images of Puerto Peñasco can be found on the boardwalk, the Shrimp Monument, a sculpture in which a shrimp fisherman with his head protected by a wide-brimmed hat, "rides" on a huge crustacean.
The 500-meter-long cutwater is frequented by people who go for a walk and jogging in the early morning and late afternoon, and by locals who gather for coffee, a drink and a meal.
2. Enjoy its beaches
In the coastal corridor of the Municipality of Puerto Peñasco, beaches are linked for an extension of 110 km, with places of different characteristics, to please the most varied tastes.
Arizonans Americans do not have sea beaches, having to settle in their country with rivers and lakes; For this reason, the nearby town of Puerto Peñasco is called "Arizona Beach".
Among the beaches of Peñasco, Las Conchas stands out, a place with transparent waters and soft sand, located in front of a distinguished residential area.
Sandy Beach is a beach with calm waves, Playa Mirador is located near the port offering beautiful views and Playa Hermosa is very beautiful, making redundancy valid.
3. Go up to Cerro La Ballena
Cerro La Ballena naturally guards Puerto Peñasco and offers you the opportunity to exercise with a walk, ultimately giving you the prize of spectacular views of the sea and the city.
La Ballena is located between the Peñasco colonies of Puerto Viejo and El Mirador, accessed from the first by Calle Mariano Matamoros and from the second by the extension of Boulevard Benito Juárez.
On Cerro La Ballena there is a 110 meter high lighthouse that is the main orientation for maritime navigators in that area of the coast.
4. Get to know the Island of San Jorge
Beyond the coastal stretch of the Bermejo Sea between the Sonoran towns of Puerto Peñasco and Caborca, is the archipelago of San Jorge.
This small rocky territory is an extraordinary reserve of the typical fauna and flora of the Gulf of California, being a paradise for tourism observing biodiversity.
San Jorge is home to the largest colony of sea lions in that area of the Sea of Cortez and is also the habitat of the fishing bat, a rare piscivorous chiropter that goes fishing at night. It has to settle for small prey because it is only 13 cm tall.
The Island of San Jorge is also a magnificent setting to exercise various marine sports, such as sport fishing, diving and snorkelling.
5. Visit the CET-MAR Aquarium and the Intercultural Center
On Las Conchas Beach, 3 km from Peñasco, is the CET-MAR Aquarium, where you can observe manta rays, seahorses, squid and other species. In the interactive section of the aquarium you can make contact with sea lions and turtles.
The Intercultural Center for Desert and Ocean Studies, also located in Las Conchas, is an institution that studies the marine ecosystems of the Gulf of California and the terrestrial ecosystems of the Baja California Peninsula.
In its spaces it exhibits a gigantic whale skeleton, as well as an important sample of bone parts of mammals and seabirds, obtained in its field research works. The center also organizes ecological excursions.
6. Tour the Great Altar Desert
52 km from Puerto Peñasco is located this huge biosphere reserve, also called El Pinacate. With an area of more than 7,100 square kilometers, the Gran Desierto de Altar is larger than the smaller Mexican states.
The immense desert is one of the few geographical features in the north of the planet that is distinguishable from outer space and was declared a World Heritage Site in 2013.
Your visit to the Gran Desierto de Altar will not be complete until you reach the El Elegant Crater, the opening of the Santa Clara Volcano or Cerro del Pinacate, 250 meters deep and a kilometer and a half in diameter, which is the highest part of the reservation.
During the 1960s, in the middle of the space race against the USSR, NASA trained its astronauts in the Great Altar Desert, so that they would get used on Earth to the overwhelming lunar landscapes.
7. Take a tour of the Schuk Toak Visitor Center
This center is the best indoor place to appreciate the arid and desolate beauty of Cerro del Pinacate, the rocky cliffs of the Sierra Blanca and the barren and dazzling surfaces of volcanic lava that surround it.
The term "Schuk Toak" means "Sacred Mountain" in the language of the Pápago indigenous people and the visitor center is reached after a 25-minute drive from Puerto Peñasco.
From the Schuk Toak Visitor Center there are walks to the El Elegant Crater and other places in the Great Altar Desert, including an "astronomical" night tour, in which the guide offers explanations about the constellations visible in the clear and clean starry sky .
8. Treat yourself to a day of fishing
Your trip to Puerto Peñasco may be the long-awaited occasion that you have been waiting to get started in the entertaining hobby of sport fishing.
If you are already an old sea lion, with experience in the seven seas, the Gulf of California may keep for you the surprise of a species that you have never seen or that presents you with an unusual combat.
In any case, you will most likely come across a dorado, a cabrilla, a swordfish, a marlin, a sole or a croaker. Unless you are lucky enough to come across a big fish that local fishermen call "pescada."
In Puerto Peñasco you can go fishing with Be best and with Santiagos Ocean Services.
9. Get your adrenaline pumping on land and air
The sight of all-terrain vehicles is very common in Puerto Peñasco, driven by young tanned men who go to have fun in the desert with their motorcycles, ATVs and high-suspension cars.
In Peñasco there are two places frequented by ATVs. On the way to La Cholla is La Loma and on the road to Sonoyta is Pista Patos, which has a 5 km circuit.
The fun by air in Puerto Peñasco is provided by the ultralights of the Ultraligeros del Desierto operator, in a 15-minute ride that costs 40 dollars.
From the small plane you will have exclusive views of the boardwalk, the beaches, Cerro La Ballena, the city of Puerto Peñasco and other places.
10. Savor the local food
The Peñasquenses have as a typical dish a manta ray fillet which they call «caguamanta»; They prepare it with pasilla chili and other ingredients and it is a delight.
Other common delicacies in local dishes are the typical Mexican Pacific coast shaken fish and shrimp in various recipes, including one in which they are wrapped in bacon and gratin with cheese.
This and other delicacies like walnut salmon and shrimp with dates can be enjoyed at Chef Mickey’s Place. Another good place to seafood it's Blue Marlin.
If you fancy roast beef or chicken, you can go to Pollos Lucas or La Curva, which is also a great place to watch football.
11. Stay comfortably
In Puerto Peñasco you will find accommodation according to your budget. In line with the higher-rate and more comfortable establishments, there is Las Palomas Beach & Golf Resort, where you can improve your golf score.
Mayan Palace is a cheaper lodging, equipped with kitchens where you can prepare some meals with the pieces you fish or buy in Puerto Peñasco.
Other good accommodation alternatives in Peñasco are the Hotel Peñasco del Sol, Hotel Playa Bonita, Sonora Sun Resort, Hotel Paraíso del Desierto and Villas Casa Blanca.
12. Have fun at their parties
The carnival in Puerto Peñasco is very picturesque and fun, with the people of Peñasco showing off their ingenuity in making costumes and floats, under the motto "Viva Peñasco".
Between the end of March and the beginning of April is the International Jazz Festival, with instrumentalists and groups of national and international fame.
Around the first of June, Day of the Navy, the Navy Fair is celebrated, which includes the election of the queen and social, cultural and sporting events.
In October, the International Cervantino Festival takes place, an event of great artistic and cultural prestige in Mexico.
