Mazunte and Zipolite

Mazunte lived off killing sea turtles until Mexico banned the trade in 1990, and the village reinvented itself around the national turtle centre built on the site of the old processing plant, along with a cooperative making cosmetics from local plants. It is now a small, low-built place of dirt lanes, with Punta Cometa, a headland that is the southernmost point in Oaxaca and the best sunset on this coast, a short walk away. Zipolite, twenty minutes east, has been an alternative-minded beach since the 1970s and is the only officially recognised nude beach in Mexico. Both sit on an open Pacific coast where olive ridley turtles nest in enormous synchronised arrivals nearby.

What you actually see

• The Mexican Turtle Centre - on the site of the old processing plant.
• Punta Cometa - the headland walk to the best sunset on the coast.
• Zipolite - Mexico's only legally recognised nude beach.
• Turtle arrivals - mass nesting at nearby La Escobilla and Morro Ayuta.

When to go

November to April is dry and the sea calmest. Olive ridley arribadas at the nearby beaches are most frequent from around August to December and are unpredictable, arriving over a few nights. Zipolite's nudist festival is in early February.

Honest expectations

The surf here is heavy and Zipolite in particular has a strong undertow and a long history of drownings; the name is sometimes translated as beach of the dead. Swim only where locals do and respect the flags. Accommodation is simple and mostly fan-cooled. Access to protected nesting beaches is controlled and turtle arrivals cannot be scheduled or promised.

Nearby

Puerto Escondido is an hour west; Huatulco is two hours east.