Cabo Pulmo, East Cape: It’s only a 37km (60-mile) drive from the Los Cabos airport to Cabo Pulmo, yet if the mounded Sierra de La Laguna peaks weren’t a dead giveaway for Baja, you could be in the South Pacific. In the shade of a palapa roofed bungalow fronting the Sea of Cortez, you won’t care where you are you just won’t want to leave. The coral reef itself is a sight to behold, but the real attraction is the flourishing sea life in this protected marine park. Extensive hiking/mountain-biking trails loop through the mountains, for those who prefer the peace of the desert. Cabo Pulmo is a tiny beach town 72km (45 miles) northeast of San José, and here the Sea of Cortez breaks on a coral reef, allowing only the finest bits of sand and smooth pebbles to pad the spectacular coastline. The coral itself is a sight to behold, but the real attraction is the flourishing fish life in this protected marine park. More than seven dive sites, desert hiking trails, secret coves, and some of the most beautiful stretches of beach in Baja make this a superb place to get away from it all. There’s not much in the way of resorts in La Ribera, but this slow-paced fishing village is tops for relaxing by the sea. It’s also home to the Buena Fortuna Botanical Garden, which is open to visitors every day but Saturday.

Down the hill from the highway, Buena Vista is an unremarkable fishing town with one great reason to visit: the hot springs in the sea water along the shore, which feed the treatments just feel for the jets of warm water with your feet. The hills give way to sandy flats as you roll into Los Barriles off Hwy. 1. The exquisite beaches, gentle breezes, excellent fishing, and subdued vibe draw expats in droves; winter winds make this a top kite-and windsurfing spot. Los Barriles has the East Cape’s most developed infrastructure, with supermarkets, restaurants, and ATMs. Nearby in Santiago, the Cañon de la Zorra is an easy hike to a spectacular desert waterfall. The remote coastal retreat of Punta Pescadero is simple in its finery, located on a point named for the top-notch fishing offshore, about 14km (83⁄4 miles) from Los Barriles. Cabo Pulmo is home to the only coral reef on the west coast of North America, and many consider it the most extraordinary site on the entire cape. The village itself con-sists of a few modest hotels and restaurants, dive centers, sand roads and a handful of salt-crusted characters from Mexico and abroad who support themselves through tourism in order to live on the edge of this unique underwater paradise. Hell, it's pretty close to paradise above the water too - and undoubtedly a great place to chill out and dive or snorkel until you're as salty and sun-burnt as the rest of them. The village of Cabo Pulmo is entirely solar-powered and has no other services than those mentioned earlier. In 2006 the town was hit harder than almost anywhere on the cape by Hurricane John. One resident reportedly clocked wind-speeds of 336km/h (210mph). Trees were destroyed, roofs blew off and a small section of the reef was damaged. But everything is up and running.

Activities, Diving and snorkeling are the real highlights here. Green turtles nest at Playa Las Barracas, about 15 minutes north of Cabo Pulmo, in August and September. Optimal conditions for diving and snorkeling are in June and July, when glassy waters allow for visibility up to 100ft. It's lower in May, August and September, but the greater amount of plankton attracts more and different marine life, including many pelagics (fish from the open sea) and manta rays. From December to March, heavy winds often make diving impossible. There are 14 dive sites in the national park, of which El Bajo has the highest concentration of fish, including the gigantic and rare whale shark and ore fish. El Cantil is the largest reef and has good coral, plus bat rays, hammer-head sharks and manta rays. El Vencedor, a tuna boat sunk in 1981, is a good place to spot baby eels and sea cucumbers; it was even featured in a Jacques Cousteau video. El Islote (Rock Island) has the best sea fans, plus frog fish, sea horses and big groupers. To the south, Los Frailes is a submarine canyon whose walls are home to manta rays and turtles. Water depths range from 25ft to 100ft. There's also a sea lion colony in Bahia Los Frailes.

Snorkeling, There's snorkeling right off the beach in Cabo Pulmo, but it's well worth taking a snorkeling tour which gets you by boat to the best sections of the reef, where snorkeling is superb. One of the best sites is Playa La Sirenita (Mermaid Beach), about a 10-minute boat ride away. The best site that doesn't require a boat is the exquisite beach of Maya Arbolito, which also offers great beachcombing and basic free camping. If you're driving from Cabo Pulmo, look for the first mad toward the beach about 3 miles south of town.

Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park is Baja’s most vibrant marine sanctuary, and the northernmost living coral reef in the Americas. All the dive companies in Los Cabos make dive trips here, but why not save yourself the drive and stay. You’ll find all manner of reef fish, sharks, sea turtles, and mantas, as well as a sea lion colony and the wreck of El Vencedor. Arrange two-tank dive trips with Cabo Pulmo Dive Center. There’s great snorkeling offshore from the beach, all the way south from the dive center to where the coast curves into a protected bay, or go on a snorkel tour. Hiking & Climbing, Rock climbers will find challenging sea-view routes on the nearby granite (there is also some basalt and other volcanic rock). For hikers, the Vista Trail is a two-hour loop around Pulmo Mountain. Given the importance of this National Park and with respect to the conservation of the flora and fauna of the Baja Peninsula, the place is not very developed for a large number of tourists, however is established a small tourist infrastructure which caters to visitors, of which are mainly Americans tourists, and followed by Canadians, who are for reasons of flora and fauna and for the practice of sports such as diving, fishing sports, canoeing, rowing and kayaking. Currently intends to build a mega resort called Cabo Cortés, but by the conditions of pristine place with little infrastructure, subject only Pacific coral is at risk of irreversible damage, this project violates the Ecological Management Program Los Cabos, which prohibits building on Dunas, coupled with this in recent days the beach of the Friars had the experience of a strange phenomenon, losing 80 meters from the beach, this area is part of the Cabo Pulmo National Park. All this leads us to conclude that this place called UNESCO protected area, is preserved in its natural state for the enjoyment of the people of Baja California Sur or of all tourists who visit it. There are many beaches to visit in Loreto, La Paz and Los Cabos, however the importance of Cabo Pulmo National Park lies in the living coral reef that is there.

Tours Dive tours with a two-tank boat dive. Both Cabo Pulmo Dive Center and Cabo Pulmo Divers offer tank-fills and rent scuba equipment. Snorkeling equipment rental with everything. Snorkeling tours are depending on the length of the trip. They're well worth the money. Run by Cabo Pulmo Beach Resort, the Cabo Pulmo Dive Center offers two-hour snorkel tours and a host of dive tours. It also rents kayaks and will pick you up in Los Frailes if you want to kayak up there. Along with all types of scuba-diving tours, offers snorkeling tours, full-thy hikes to hot springs near Santiago, excursions by horseback or kayak and surfing trips to nearby Punta Perfecta. Fishing trips are also offered. Small bungalows cost and casitas (cottages) sleeping up to four people, the beach house, for up to six people. All but the hotel rooms have kitchens. All the recipes includes delicacies such as scallop ceviche, lobster salad over greens with avocado and tomato, shrimp guajillo (a type of chili sauce) and scallops caramelized in butter and garlic. Vegetarians will love the vegetable enchiladas. The bread is homemade and the margaritas (blammo!) are knockouts. Also are available casitas, rustic little houses with equally rustic tables, thatched roofs, basic patios and wonderfully comfort-able beds (adorned with 300-thread-count sheets). They're extremely simple, but they're a wonderful place to chill out, if you don't mind being close to the elements.

Strap on a mask and snorkel and plunge beneath the water off Cabo Pulmo and you'll encounter a world of kaleidoscopic marine life. Cabo Pulmo owes its underwater diversity to its coral reef, one of only four living reefs in North America. Corals are animals, tiny carnivorous polyps with minute tentacles, a stomach and a central calcium-carbonate core or 'skeleton'. Despite their diminutive size, they have created the world's largest living structures, Australia's Great Barrier Reef being their grandest work of all. Coral polyps are only a few millimeters in diameter, so when you look at a coral head, what you see is the conglomeration of thousands of polyps. The sea anemone like creatures build upon generation after generation of their dead polyp predecessors and, given the right conditions, slowly build up a reef beneath them. The Pulmo reef is an estimated 25,000 years old. With their astonishing array of crevices, caverns and caves, coral reefs harbor some of the world's greatest biodiversity. The Pulmo reef, composed of two living coral species, lies on the cusp of tropical and temperate waters and harbors over 230 species of tropical fish. The reef consists of seven fingers jutting into the sea right from the shoreline. Most corals are dependent upon sunlight for life and are found in shallow waters. The Sea of Cortez' clear water conditions allow the corals here to survive down to depths of 70ft. While divers will surely see the widest array of life, snorkelers can explore the reef immediately offshore. The reef and 71 sq km (27 sq miles) of ocean surrounding it constitute the Parque Marino Nacional Cabo Pulmo, a legally protected area since 1995. The marine park is bounded by Playa Las Barracas in the north and Bahia Los Frailes in the south. The reef system is very fragile and especially susceptible to pollution. Planned on-shore resort and housing developments pose the biggest threats, as does petrochemical pollution from two-stroke outboard motors. No fishing is allowed within the park.