This extraordinary adventure will take you halfway through the Baja Península, roughly 886 kilometers from the border into San Francisco de la Sierra in Baja California Sur.
Once there, you will ride on a mule from Guadalupe Ranch into the bottom of the Santa Teresa Canyon, about a three hour ride. You will explore one of the most important grand mural cave paintings art in the world.
Full of mysteries, these amazing cave paintings date back to the last ice age, over 10,800 years ago. These paintings where recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in 1993.
We will visit four amazing sites: Las Flechas, Los Músicos, El Julio and the world famous La Pintada with over a 150 mts stone canvas with over a thousand images.
This will be a 5-day Expedition and for this extraordinary adventure, we will sleep in a tented camp at Rancho Santa Teresa, where we will stay for 2 nights, and 3 days.
Duration: 5-day guided adventure.
Price: $1725 USD per person (2 guest per tented camp).
Best for: Solo travelers, couples, groups, and families with children over the age of 13.
Season 2024 dates:
November 10th-14th
November 17th-21st
Group size: 6 guests.
Must haves: Passport required and travel insurance is recommended.
Our meeting point will be at 7 am in San Diego where we will depart toward San Felipe at the Sea of Cortés, where we will stop for a quick lunch. Continuing southwest, 4 hours later we will stop at Guerrero Negro, home of the world famous Gray Whale watching, were you will enjoy an early dinner. We will continue heading south for 45 minutes until we reach the town of Vizcaíno, where we will spend be spending the night at a hotel.
The following morning, we will depart at 7:00 am on an 45 minute journey to San Francisco de la Sierra, where we will have breakfast at Hostal Buenaventura.
Upon finishing your meal, we will head to Rancho Guadalupe the natural biosphere reserve where we will unload our gear and mount our mules. We will brief you on a few tips you need to know for mounting and dismounting, as well on how to properly guide you mule. Once at the bottom of the canyon, and after a light lunch, we will guide you on a hike for our first encounter with the paintings.
Later that evening you will enjoy a true authentic ranch meal, including hand made flower tortillas and goat cheese.
Coffee will be ready at 7:00 am and breakfast will be served at 7:30 am. Oats and fruit and/or ham scrambled eggs and refried beans.
We will ride toward the canyon at 8:30 am for a full day of riding and hiking. After a 45 minute ride, we will start hiking the walls of the canyon where you be exploring four amazing cave paintings.
A light lunch will be provided around noon. We will be heading back to camp around 5 pm after visiting Cueva La Pintada. This cave is among the most notable in the Sierra in terms of its scale, relatively good preservation, and diverse repertoire of figures.
Dinner will be served at 6:30 pm.
Coffee will be ready at 7:00 am, breakfast at 8:00 am. Today is the last day at Rancho Santa Teresa. We will depart at 10:00 am for another 3 hour ride back to Rancho Guadalupe. You will be asked to have all your gear ready outside your tent by 9:00 am so the guides can start packing everything and prepare for our departure.
We will make a quick stop a “Cueva del Ratón —The mouse Cave—”, another beautiful painting right on side of the road, before heading to Guerrero Negro, where we will spend the night. Dinner at Guerrero Negro is suggested at 5:00 pm, and we will then watch the beautiful sunset reflection over the salt lagoons. Guerrero Negro is the largest salt works in the world, and it has one of the best salt that currently exists. It’s production of 7.5 million anual tons is exported to almost the entire planet.
We will depart Guerrero Negro at 7:00 am, stoping at San Felipe for Lunch. We will then continue our drive to San Diego where our trip will conclude.
On this day it will approximately take us 10 hours to reach our destination arriving at San Diego around 6:00 pm.
For your trip back home, we suggest traveling the following day to avoid any possible inconveniences.
– Roundtrip transportation San Diego – Sierra de San Francisco – San Diego.
– 1-night accommodation in Vizcaíno.
– 2-night, 3-day accommodation in Sierra de San Francisco.
– 1-night accommodation in Guerrero Negro
– All meals at the campsite.
– Meals in San Felipe [2] and Guerrero Negro [2] are not included, except for the ones mentioned above.
– Gratuity for guides and Cook.
– You will need your passport to travel to Mexico.
– Travel Insurance is recommended.
You can expect an up-close look at 4 different cave paintings, including the world-famous La Pintada, with over a thousand images. Also, the unique flora of the Sierra de San Francisco and beautiful landscapes.
Average daily high temperatures are 13o-27°C (55o – 80°F) with nightly lows cooling down to 8o-10°C (48o-52°F).
Plan to wear layers as you will be exposed to the sun and, once the sun starts to come down, cooler temperatures will happen. Even though rain is not common, an occasional shower [mainly in February and March] may occur. Therefore a light raincoat is recommended.
Yes! Teenagers over the age of 13 are welcome on this trip!
You will ride on the back of a sturdy, amazingly sure-footed mule. Number one rule: trust your ride. They are very experienced and have done the down and uphill trip many times.
Cannot exceed the weight of 200 hundred pounds per guest.
No. We will do an introduction on how to mount/dismount your mule. Also, how to feel more confident going down or uphill and a few other tips.
We will sleep at a hotel in Vizcaino in Guerrero Negro (double bed hotel accommodation).
At the campsite, we use generous tents (11’x 9’ – 72” at the center). They will be assigned for every two guests. A private tent is also possible for an additional 195 dlls.
Mid-February until the first week of May and second week of October until the last week of November.
– A comfortable sleeping pad and a mid-weight sleeping bag
– Comfortable clothes (t-shirts, long sleeve t-shirts, jeans and hiking pants).
– Hiking shoes.
– Warm jacket and windbreaker (preferably water-resistant).
– Sun hat, sunglasses, and sunblock.
– 1 pair of tennis shoes.
– Your essentials. Bring only what is necessary, try to travel light (one carry on and one personal backpack).
– Camera gear.
– Optional: binoculars.
NOTE: We care for the donkeys capabilities and well being though the maximum weight in luggage allowed is 25 pounds, plus your sleeping bag and pad. You can always leave some items in the vehicle if they’re not necessary for the adventure itself.
The trip with Nats was one of the best experiences I have ever lived! It changed my life forever! Nats passion, enthusiasm and love for the beautiful gray whales is contagious. Her attention to details and careful planning made the whole experience absolutely flawless and so much fun! Can’t wait to do it again and again and again! Highly recommend!
On March 2020 we booked a trip with Nats to take our family of 4 to see the gray whales in Guerrero Negro. We were debating if we should take our boys who were 3 & 5 at the time and we were so happy we did! It was definitely a once in a life time experience. She was very helpful in making sure every aspect of it was well planned and taken care of. The best part was to see the whales and the babies so close and being able to pet them! It is an absolutely amazing adventure!
Experiencing the Gray Whales in Guerrero Negro exceeded everything I could've imagined. Every incredible encounter felt like it couldn't be topped but somehow it did. Experiencing all of this with Nats made it even better! Having a translator and a guide with local knowledge to navigate the trip made it to where your only responsibilities were to enjoy yourself and make amazing memories.
Come and explore the ocean in Baja with us. Reach out and let’s start planning your unforgettable adventure today!
Safe, ethical wildlife and nature travel
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