Loreto

Loreto was the beginning of European Baja: the Jesuit mission founded here in 1697 was the first permanent settlement on the peninsula and the base from which the mission chain spread north, and its stone church still carries the inscription naming it the head and mother of the missions. The town that grew around it stayed small - a pueblo magico of low stone streets, a shaded plaza, a malecon along the gulf and a mission museum - which is exactly its appeal beside the resort scale of Los Cabos. The main event is offshore: the Bahia de Loreto National Park protects five islands - Coronado, Carmen, Danzante, Monserrat and Santa Catalina - and the water between them, where boat trips find sea lion colonies, blue-footed boobies, snorkelling coves, dolphins and, from winter into spring, blue whales and fin whales that come to feed in the deep channel. Inland, the mountain oasis of San Javier holds the peninsula's finest mission church, an hour up a paved canyon road.

What you actually see

• The 1697 mission - the first church of the Californias.
• The island park - Coronado, Carmen and the marine reserve.
• The whales - blue and fin whales in the winter channel.
• The stone town - plaza, malecon and low colonial streets.

When to go

October to May for calm seas and mild days; February to April for the big whales. Summer is hot with hurricane risk and many boat operators pause.

Honest expectations

Boat trips depend entirely on wind - northers cancel days at a time in winter. The town is quiet by design; nightlife is minimal. Marine park rules restrict landings and require guides on some islands.

Nearby

Mision San Javier lies an hour inland; Bahia Concepcion's coves are two hours north.