San Pedro Martir

The Sierra de San Pedro Martir rises to over 3,000 metres in northern Baja, and driving up into it is a transformation - from coastal scrub through chaparral into open forests of Jeffrey pine, white fir and incense cedar, with granite domes and meadows on top. The national park protects the range, and its most famous resident is scientific: the Observatorio Astronomico Nacional sits near the summit ridge, sited here because the combination of altitude, dry air, stable atmosphere and distance from city light gives some of the finest observing conditions in North America. Visitors can drive to the observatory viewpoint area on posted days for the panorama, which on clear afternoons reaches both the Pacific and the Gulf of California. Below, the park offers camping, trails through the pines, granite scrambling, and the serious backcountry route to Picacho del Diablo, the peninsula's highest peak at over 3,000 metres - a hard, unmarked climb for experienced parties only. Nights are cold and the stars are the point.

What's there

• The pine forest - Jeffrey pine and fir above the desert.
• The observatory - the national telescopes on the ridge.
• The two-sea panorama - Pacific and Gulf on clear days.
• The night sky - among the darkest and steadiest anywhere.

When to go

May to October; snow and ice close the road in winter. Nights are cold in every season - camping needs proper gear even in August.

Before you go

There is no fuel, no shop and no signal in the park - arrive self-sufficient. Observatory access is limited to specific areas and times; the telescopes are working instruments, not a visitor attraction. Picacho del Diablo is a genuine mountaineering objective, not a hike.

Nearby

San Quintin's bays and oyster farms lie on the coast below; Ensenada is three hours north.