New Tourist Activity Near Los Cabos Will Help Amplify The Destination’s Natural Beauty

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Last Updated 12 months ago

In addition to the silky sand and gentle waters, Los Cabos and the surrounding areas are famous for their numerous water-based activities. 

Scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, paddleboarding, swimming with dolphins, and whale watching are just a few of the most popular ocean-based activities that tourists pursue every year.

Tourist activities have expanded so that you can even swim with sharks with a guided group.  

Although you wouldn’t know it, the Baja California Sur hotspot adjacent to Los Cabos is also known for its incredible coral reefs. 

While The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the largest and most famous coral reef, the coral reefs in La Paz are just as beautiful, just not as well known. 

In La Paz, specifically in Pichilingue, you can even swim amongst the coral reefs and explore one of nature’s most beautiful pieces of biodiversity. 

Known as the “Pearls of La Paz,” the coral reefs in the bay are also referred to as gardens that anyone is welcome to explore. 

Swimming in the coral gardens with a tour guide is an activity that is growing increasingly popular with travelers venturing to La Paz from all over the world. 

In the bay in the Baja California Sur vacation destination, locals work daily to preserve the reefs against environmental factors endangering their continued existence. 

Local officials have come up with a scheme to combine tourism, entertainment, and environmental awareness by allowing tourists to join in efforts to preserve the coral reefs. 

La Paz Coral Reefs 

One of the only coral reefs in the Sea of Cortez, the coral gardens of La Paz are part of the Espiritu Santo National Park. 

A popular snorkeling destination, tourists and locals swimming in the reefs are not only able to observe the rich plant life but also the vibrant marine life by seeing the hundreds of different species of fish. 

By snorkeling or scuba diving in the coral gardens in La Paz, you can also see turtles and sea lions. 

One of the top scuba diving destinations in the world, the coral reefs in La Paz have something for everyone. 

Helping to Preserve the Coral Gardens  

Coral reefs, also known as the “world’s aquariums” according to a member of the conservation team, are growing fewer and far between each year with climate change.   

To stem the ever-growing effects of climate change, locals have recruited tourists to help with coral reef preservation and restoration in three main areas including San Margarito Islet, Punta Pichilingue, and Balandra. 

Local officials started this organized effort two years ago and are now inviting tourists to take part in the project. 

Tourists and locals swimming in the coral reefs have to adhere to many stringent requirements, such as wearing and utilizing the necessary pieces of equipment, not wearing sunscreen, and wearing special attire. 

Swimmers are also instructed that they must maintain a specific distance between themselves and the coral gardens. 

In this announcement, it was also detailed that previous tourist activity in the coral reefs has caused damage, so this effort is to ensure that this damage is reversed and does not happen again. 

In past instances, travelers snorkeling in the bay have damaged coral reefs by stepping on them by accident. 

Coral reefs are particularly sensitive, so preserving and restoring them is a long process. 

In order to restore the coral gardens to what they once were, local officials have stated that they need to plant new corals and in order to do so, must “prepare the site to receive the corals.”

To do this, the team prepares “installation bases made with toxic plasticine” and plants them in the coral reefs. The ball-shaped installation bases can also be made out of copper. 

In their efforts to preserve the coral reefs, local workers have also tried to rebuild the gardens, planting over 7,500 coral colonies.