Balandra, Flora and fauna protection area in La Paz, Mexico

Balandra is a protected coastal area on the Gulf of California, north of La Paz, made up of shallow bays, white sand beaches, and stretches of mangrove forest. The site is part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing that covers the islands and protected areas of the Gulf of California and shelters a wide range of marine and bird species.

The Mexican government officially designated Balandra as a protected area in 2012, adding it to the management framework of the Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California. Before that formal step, the area had long been used by fishing communities along the coast of La Paz.

Balandra takes its name from the bay where the Pericúes, a hunting and gathering people who disappeared as a group in the second half of the 18th century, concentrated most of their settlements and carried out most of their fishing and gathering. Archaeological sites in the area confirm human presence for more than two thousand years.

The site is north of La Paz and reachable by road, with parking available on arrival. Going in the morning gives more room to explore and a better chance of seeing birds and marine life before the area fills up later in the day.

The protected area covers 2,512.50 hectares of coastal wetland, mostly beaches and mangroves with coastal lagoons such as the one at Playa Balandra. CONABIO records more than 809 plant and animal species here, 32 of them under a risk category of Mexican norm NOM-059 and 11 exotic.