Layout of Loreto
Loreto is a small town on a narrow coastal shelf between the Gulf of California and the Sierra de la Giganta, which rises to over 1,700 m within a few kilometres of the shore. The plan is simple: a seafront malecón, a grid of streets behind it, and at the centre the mission church of Nuestra Señora de Loreto with the Museo de las Misiones beside it. Calle Salvatierra runs inland from the church as a pedestrian street to Highway 1, which passes the town on the landward side and carries all through traffic. The marina and the small-boat launch are at the north end of the malecón.
Two planned developments lie south along the coast. Nopoló, 8 km down Highway 1, was laid out by the federal tourism agency FONATUR in the 1970s and holds the golf course and the larger hotels. Puerto Escondido, 25 km south, is a natural hurricane hole and now a marina — the best-protected anchorage on this coast. Loreto International (LTO) is 4 km south of town, between the two. The municipality of Loreto had 18,912 residents in 2020 and the town itself about 14,700, which makes it by some way the smallest place in Baja California Sur with an international airport; the airports map shows how thin the network is on the peninsula.
Distances from Loreto
| Place | km | Time | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loreto airport (LTO) | 4 | 10 min | Hwy 1 south |
| Puerto Escondido marina | 25 | 25 min | Hwy 1 south |
| San Javier mission | 36 | 1 h | Paved mountain road, inland |
| Mulegé | 135 | 1 h 45 | Hwy 1 north |
| Ciudad Constitución | 145 | 1 h 45 | Hwy 1 south, over the divide |
| Santa Rosalía | 195 | 2 h 30 | Hwy 1 north; ferry to Guaymas |
| Puerto San Carlos (Bahía Magdalena) | 205 | 2 h 45 | Hwy 1 then Hwy 22 |
| La Paz (state capital) | 350 | 4 h 30 | Hwy 1 south |
| Guerrero Negro | 420 | 5 h | Hwy 1 north |
| Cabo San Lucas | 510 | 6 h 30 | Hwy 1 south |
The islands, the sierra and San Javier
The mission was founded on 25 October 1697 by the Jesuit Juan María de Salvatierra, and Loreto became the first permanent European settlement in either California. Everything that followed — the chain of missions up the peninsula, and after 1769 the expedition that founded San Diego and Monterey — was supplied from this harbour. Loreto was the capital of the Californias until 1777 and remained the capital of Baja California until storms in 1829 wrecked the town and the government moved to La Paz. The inscription over the church door still describes it as the head and mother of the missions of Upper and Lower California.
The water in front of the town is the Parque Nacional Bahía de Loreto, declared in 1996 and covering about 2,065 km². Isla Coronado, 8 km offshore, is a volcanic cone with a sand spit and a sea lion colony; Isla del Carmen, the largest at about 150 km², has an abandoned salt works at Bahía Salinas; Danzante, Montserrat and Santa Catalina lie further south. Blue whales are in the channel between January and March, and fin whales are present most of the year — this stretch of the Gulf is one of the few places where blue whales are reliably seen from small boats.
Behind Loreto, a paved road climbs 36 km into the Sierra de la Giganta to San Javier, a village of a few hundred people around the mission of San Francisco Javier de Viggé-Biaundó. The mission was begun in 1699 and the stone church, built between 1744 and 1758, is the best preserved of all the Baja missions; an olive tree planted by the Jesuits still stands in the garden. The same range holds rock-art sites in the canyons north towards Mulegé, part of the painted-cave tradition that runs up the spine of the peninsula and is catalogued on the archaeological sites map. Loreto is a Pueblo Mágico, and its position halfway down the peninsula makes it the usual overnight stop for drivers on Highway 1 — see the Mexico road map, the Baja peninsula map and the full list of Mexican cities.
Questions about Loreto
Where is Loreto on the map of Mexico?
On the Gulf of California coast of Baja California Sur, at 26.01° N 111.35° W, halfway down the Baja peninsula. It is 350 km north of La Paz on Highway 1, with the Sierra de la Giganta directly behind the town.
Why is Loreto important in Mexican history?
The mission of Nuestra Señora de Loreto, founded on 25 October 1697, was the first permanent Spanish settlement in the Californias and the base from which every later mission — in Baja and then Alta California — was supplied. Loreto was the capital of the Californias until 1777.
Does Loreto have an airport?
Yes. Loreto International (LTO) is about 4 km south of the town, with seasonal direct flights from the United States and Canada and domestic services. The alternative is to fly to La Paz and drive 350 km north.
What is the Bay of Loreto national park?
A marine park declared in 1996 covering about 2,065 km² of the Gulf of California in front of the town, including the islands of Coronado, Del Carmen, Danzante, Montserrat and Santa Catalina. It is part of the UNESCO-listed Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California.