El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve, Biosphere reserve in Mulegé, Baja California Sur, Mexico
El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve is a large protected area in Baja California Sur located between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. The landscape includes desert regions, wetlands, and coastal areas with diverse ecosystems.
The Cochimi people inhabited this region for millennia and left cave paintings in the mountain areas. These artworks were created long before European explorers arrived.
The Sierra de San Francisco holds cave paintings made by the Cochimi, the foraging people who met Spanish explorers here. The sites lie in rock shelters of the sierra, reached on foot or by mule with local guides. The figures are painted in red, black and white on the rock walls.
The reserve is open to visitors during daylight hours, though some areas are easier to reach than others. Plan extra time to explore different sections of this large territory.
The reserve's name comes from Sebastián Vizcaíno, who explored the inland area in 1596 for Viceroy Gaspar de Zúñiga. The gray whales gather in the lagoons of the Pacific coast, such as Ojo de Liebre and San Ignacio, where boats take visitors to watch them. Guerrero Negro, one of the reserve's main towns, has lived from its saltworks for about a century and a half.
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