Mulege

Mulege sits in a green slot in the desert: the Santa Rosalia river runs out to the gulf here through a canyon dense with date palms planted by missionaries, and the town of a few thousand people occupies both banks in low white houses under the shade. Above it stands the mission of Santa Rosalia de Mulege, founded in 1705 and rebuilt in stone, whose terrace gives the classic view down the palm valley to the estuary and the sea. The other landmark is odd and endearing - the old territorial prison on the hill, a jail famous for letting inmates out to work in town during the day and known accordingly as the prison without doors, now a museum of local history. Beyond that, Mulege is a base: kayaks and pangas on the estuary, cave-painting excursions into the Sierra de Guadalupe with licensed guides, sportfishing, and the beaches of Bahia Concepcion twenty minutes south. Hurricanes have hit the town hard more than once, and the rebuilt buildings show it.

History

Jesuit Father Juan María de Salvatierra chose the valley for a mission in 1702, and Father Francisco Escalante began the mission buildings of Santa Rosalía de Mulegé in 1754. The town's old prison had no bars: prisoners walked freely in town by day, some raising families here, and returned in the evening, and escapes were rare given the surrounding desert; it is now a museum (Wikipedia, Mulegé).

What you'll find

• The palm canyon - date groves along the river to the estuary.
• The mission - the 1705 foundation and its valley terrace.
• The prison museum - the jail without doors on the hill.
• The estuary - pangas, kayaks and birds at the river mouth.

When to go

November to April for mild weather; summer is very hot and the late-summer hurricane season is a genuine consideration on this coast.

Good to know

The town is small and services modest, with limited banking. River water quality varies - swim at the beaches instead. Cave-painting trips require permits and licensed guides, arranged locally a day ahead.

Nearby

Bahia Concepcion's coves begin twenty minutes south; Santa Rosalia's French mining architecture lies an hour north.

Key facts