Puerto Escondido
Location: Oaxaca State, Pacific
coast, western Mexico
Distance from Mexico City: 500 miles south
Population: 35,000
Closest major airport: Puerto Escondido International
(PXM)
Time zone: Central Standard Time
Puerto Escondido is a traditional Mexican fishing
village located 180 miles south of the city of Oaxaca and 70 miles
west of Huatulco Bay in an area known as the Emerald Coast for its
magnificent jade-green waters. The city, which inherited its name
from the local rocks known as “Punta Escondida,” attracts
tourists from all over the world for its remarkable surfing, natural
scenic beauty, extraordinary bays and pleasant tropical climate.
Although Puerto Escondido was officially founded
in 1928, it had long since been a shipping point for coffee plantations.
During the 1960’s, when the coast road was built, tourism
began to develop and continued to increase with the opening of a
small airport in the 1980s. Today, tourism is one of the city´s
major industries.
The diverse beaches in Puerto Escondido are one
of its major attractions, varying in types of sand, waves and rocky
slopes. Playa Principal, for example, is one of the calm beaches
in the city, offering kiosks and changing rooms; while Marineros
is ideal for novice surfers and Zicatela, known for its rough waves,
is a surfer’s paradise with 13-foot high waves. Other popular
beaches include Barra de Colotepec, a turtle zone; Bacocho, an open
beach with gentle waves ideal for diving; Playa Embarcadero, suitable
for skiing and sailing; and Carrizalillo, a bay area perfect for
swimming and boat trips. Puerto Angelito, a small bay next to Puerto
Escondido, is another great place to visit. Its natural pool, with
transparent waters, is ideal for recreational swimming.
Puerto Escondido is also renowned for its Turtle
Assistance Ecological Camp, located a few miles from the port, and
The Living Museum of Sea Turtles, located on Mazunte Beach. The
museum is designed to protect sea turtles and prevent extinction
and displays a variety of sea turtles that inhabit Mexico’s
shores.
Shopping is another diversion in Puerto Escondido.
Local merchandise includes everything from leather ware, cotton/woolen
textiles, tinwork and ceramics to stone work, jewelry and the black
pottery typical of Oaxaca State.
Local cuisine in Puerto Escondido is primarily fish
and seafood-based. Following a busy day of beach lounging and handicraft
shopping, a scrumptious seafood dinner, with traditional Oaxacan
tamales, is the ideal way to end the perfect day. The best places
are found at the beach shelters, hotel restaurants and the Alfredo
Perez Gasca tourist avenue, better known as, “El Adoquin.”
Puerto Escondido is a charming fishing village that
offers all the commodities of a splendid tourist destination enriched
with traditional Oaxacan coast culture. |
