Our must-sees in Bacalar, unspoiled pearl of the Mayan coast

In this thick jungle region of the Mexican Caribbean peninsula, on the border with Belize, Bacalar looms like an oasis.

Become popular for its crystal clear freshwater lagoon stretching for about forty kilometers, this small town of around 50,000 inhabitants seduces lovers of paddleboarding, kayaking and swimming in calm waters.

While the city center does have a few charming restaurants and an old Spanish fortress overlooking the lagoon, Bacalar is above all a nature-oriented seaside resort, where people come to rest, swim and contemplate the surrounding flora and fauna.

To discover

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Explore the lagoon

Kayaking in a cenote.

Adobe Stock / Simon

The lagoon extends over 42 km in total and owes its color gradations to the variability of the depth level.

Walks in a close perimeter are quite possible by kayak, on the other hand the boat option is clearly recommended for long distances, unless you are particularly trained.

From Bacalar, let yourself be carried away in the crystal clear waters of the gentle current of “Los Rapidos”.

Experience quicksand in the Chac Estuary, also known as “Canal de los Pirates,” an area where visitors slather themselves head-to-toe in muddy sand for what locals call a “Mayan exfoliation.”

Composed of sulfur, among other things, the grains cleanse dead skin but also absorb all the chemicals present in creams and other sunscreens.

If the

experience tempts you, try to be aware of it.

If you manage to continue the walk to Xul-Há, a village located very close to the border with Belize, then you will have a good overview of the surroundings.

• Our advice

All the establishments along the lagoon offer kayak rental.

The "Tour paseo en Lancha" agency located a hundred meters south of Cenote Negro offers shared boat trips: 400 MXN (20 €)/person for a 2h30 ride to discover the lagoon and its three cenotes.

The agency offers the same private boat trip, 4000 MXN (200 €) for up to 12 people.

Contact: +52 983 107 9809.

Discover the cenotes

In the middle of the lagoon, we observe the cenote Azul in the foreground, then the cenote Cocalitos and finally the cenote Esmeralda.

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Connected to the lagoon, several cenotes are accessible by boat, kayak or by land.

Very popular, the Cocalitos cenote, of an astonishing water-green color, is punctuated by more or less imposing stromatolites.

Nearby, the deep water of Cenote Azul takes on a dark hue without losing any of its clarity, while Cenote Esmeralda, enthroned in the middle of the lagoon, stands out clearly thanks to its unique color.

Finally, the Cenote Negro is undoubtedly the most impressive in the area.

An underwater precipice going from one and a half meters deep to more than 100 meters for a diameter of 130 meters, it impresses with its intense cobalt blue color, even black on cloudy days, plunging its visitors into a mystical atmosphere.

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Stay by the water

Khaban Bacalar Hotel Boutique.

Photo press / Khaban Bacalar

If the city center concentrates a host of hotels for all budgets, Bacalar is especially coveted for its establishments in the middle of nature, installed at the edge of the water.

By boat, you can clearly make out a few piers lined with water lilies, but the cabins and other bungalows, veritable cocoons buried by the abundant vegetation, advocate discretion.

However, each hotel generally has a restaurant, a paddle, kayak or water taxi rental service to crisscross the lagoon or reach the village, as well as a long worn wooden pontoon from which you can watch the sun rise. in absolute silence.

• Our advice

Eco-Romantic Villas Kúuch Ka'anil.

Simple and comfortable bungalows with private access to the lagoon via a nicely landscaped bathing area.

From €120 per night.

Khaban Bacalar Hotel Boutique.

Individual bungalows carefully decorated with terrace overlooking the lagoon and superb swimming pool.

A haven of peace.

From €250 per night.

Observe stromatolites

Stromatolites.

Adobe Stock / buunature

These kinds of small floating rocks are in fact stromatolites, delicate living organisms, part of which is fossilized.

Made up of several thousand bacteria, they are important generators of oxygen and contribute to the purification of water.

If they are present throughout the lagoon, it is advisable not to approach them too closely (ideally, maintain a distance of at least 3 meters) and above all not to bathe with sunscreen, chemical products being fatal to them.

According to scientists, the stromatolites present at Bacalar are over 10,000 years old and take thousands of years to regenerate.

Visit the fort of San Felipe

San Felipe fort.

Adobe Stock / Francesca

The city has a close connection with pirates.

This is what we discover when visiting Fort San Felipe located in the heart of the city, a castle built around 1730 by order of Don Antonio de Figueroa y Silva to protect the local population from successive attacks by English pirates, French, Dutch, Africans or even Orientals passing through the area.

In 1858, Mayan insurgents retook the fort but caste wars caused its partial destruction a century later.

The history of Bacalar is now reconstructed in a small enclosure of the fort called the "Piracy Museum", the rest of the building being used for the organization of art exhibitions, dance workshops, poetry, theater or concerts.

Fort San Felipe and Museum of Piracy.

Av. 3, centro, CP 77930 Bacalar.

Open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., except Mondays.

Price: 50MXN (€2.50).

Such.

: +52 9838342886.

Practical notebook

GO

From Paris CDG, Air France offers direct flights to Cancun (10:40 am).

From there, you can take an ADO Cancun-Bacalar bus (4h30) or rent a car to easily get around the entire peninsula.

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