The El Vizcaíno Whale Lagoons

Every winter grey whales swim from the Bering and Chukchi seas down the length of the North American coast, ten thousand kilometres, to a handful of shallow warm lagoons on the Pacific side of Baja, where they mate and give birth. Ojo de Liebre and San Ignacio are the main ones, protected within the El Vizcaíno reserve and listed by UNESCO in 1993. What makes them extraordinary is the behaviour: in these lagoons, and almost nowhere else, adult whales approach small boats deliberately and mothers bring their calves alongside to be touched, a habit that developed within living memory in the same waters where the species was hunted almost to extinction. Boat numbers and time on the water are limited.

What you actually see

• Friendly whales - adults and calves approaching the boats of their own accord.
• San Ignacio lagoon - the quieter and more remote of the two main lagoons.
• Ojo de Liebre - the easier access, close to Guerrero Negro.
• The salt flats and desert - the Vizcaíno reserve around the lagoons.

When to go

Mid-January to mid-April is the whole season, with February and March the peak for calves. Outside it the lagoons are empty. Trips run twice daily and are limited in number, so book ahead, particularly for San Ignacio where camps are small.

Honest expectations

The season is short and rigid, and there is nothing to see outside it. Guerrero Negro is a salt company town with limited appeal beyond the whales, and San Ignacio lagoon is a long dirt road from the highway with basic camps and no phone signal. Whales approach when they choose; no operator can promise contact, and the rules deliberately prevent chasing them.

Nearby

San Ignacio town and the Sierra de San Francisco rock art are inland.