Spectacular Bacalar!

You have to experience Bacalar to believe the incredible ever-changing colors of the lake. Bacalar had been on our list of places to visit for several years but it wasn’t until we found ourselves with 10 days extra at the end of our trip that we decided to bus across the Yucatan and visit Bacalar and the nearby beach town of Mahahual before heading home.

Lining the left side you can see the cenotes – Cenote Azul, Cenote Cocalitos, and Cenote Esmeralda. Photo courtesy of letstraveltomexico.com

Baccalar is the largest lake in the Yucatan at around 26 miles in length and is less than 1.2 miles at its widest. It lies inland from the Caribbean coast about 12 miles from the port town of Chetumal. It’s locally known as the Laguna de Bacalar or the Laguna de Siete Colores (Lake of Seven Colors) for the spectacular shades of blue that you can witness on a sunny day.

The various shades of blue are due to the sunlight reflecting off the bottom in the differing depths of water in the lake and the cenotes lining it’s shores. The bottom consists of a white limestone material that really brings out the turquoise in the water in the shallower areas.

The lake is supplied by a 280 mile underground river that is part of the world’s largest water cave/tunnel system that parallels the Yucatan coast.

While researching our trip to Bacalar I read a couple of other online articles about Bacalar and I could tell the authors were a bit hesitant to let the secret out about this beautiful place for fear that it could be overrun by tourists. Right now it is relatively unspoiled but it probably can’t stand a real heavy tourist population unless it is very well managed.

One thing Bacalar has going for it to remain unspoiled is that it is not easy to get there. It’s at least four hours by car to the Cancun airport and the other route in via the airport in Belize City requires a couple hours drive and a border crossing near Chetumal.

When you are in Bacalar the main thing to do is to get out on the water.  Whether it be by boat or paddle board or jet ski or sailboat or kayak you just have to swim in this incredible water. Sun tan lotion, even the biodegradable kind, is not allowed and so we wore our rash guards to protect us from the sun. 

The town of Bacalar is located on the lake’s western shore and has a population around 40,000. The town is centered around the Parque de Bacalar and the adjacent Fort San Felipe. On our first evening we happened upon some traditional dancing in an amphitheater near the Fort. No one dropped their bottle from their head during the dance.

The guide on our boat tour told us that the lake system would allow boats to make it all the way from the Caribbean Sea near Belize into the lake and that in the past pirates would take advantage of that passage to hide out from their pursuers and ravish the town. Eventually after decades of attacks by mostly English and Dutch pirates the Spanish built the stone Fort of San Felipe and mounted cannons to repel the pirates.

Bacalar also had some lovely, colorful murals around town. 

Lots of gorgeous flowers in the area too.

Another must do attraction on the outskirts of Bacalar is an area called Los Rapidos (The Rapids). It is really more of just a lazy river with a gentle current where you can float down in this amazing, warm, turquoise water.

We went on a weekday and right when it opened so we didn’t experience the crowds that some people complained about in the articles I read. There’s a restaurant on-site and lockers and you can bring a towel and just hang out at various tables or in the hammocks on the water.

There are boardwalks on the side that you can walk up and then you jump in the water and float down and get out and do it all over again.

It made for a great morning outing and of course it was 80° and humid so the water felt great.

Bacalar was one of the highlights of our trip and we would highly recommend a visit if you find yourself in that part of Mexico. Just don’t tell everyone about it 🙂