The sleepy town of Bacalar located in Quintana Roo state south-east Mexico, near its border with Belize, is still an ‘off-the-beaten-path’ destination in the Yucatán Peninsula. Hordes of tourists to the region tend to head east to the resorts in Tulum, Playa del Carmen and Cancun and miss out on this spectacular setting. 

Bacalar is a ‘Pueblo Mágico’ (“magic town”), a designation given to towns celebrated for their natural beauty, cultural richness and/or historical relevance.  The main attraction in Bacalar is its lagoon, ‘Laguna de los Siete Colores’  (the lake of seven colours). This stunning lake is known for its crystal-clear waters and striking colour: seven different shades of blue, ranging from aquamarine to turquoise to indigo. It is the varying depths of the lagoon that give it its differing shades of blue. Sometimes called the ‘Maldives of Mexico’, its west coast is peppered with thatched cabanas and wooden walkways that jut out into the lake. The east coast remains undeveloped, bordered by freshwater mangroves and jungle.

I spent a couple of days in Bacalar, exploring the town and lake with a friend, Joanna. We met on a shuttle from Belize – we were the only passengers, and bonded over our love of travel…and Sex and The City. I prefer not to recall the challenges of crossing the Belize/Mexico border – the first time and only time on my sabbatical I seemed to not have all the documents required to be processed. I spent a stressful couple of hours running between four different counters/offices trying to convince the officials that I had completed the right forms and paid all relevant costs. Thankfully, Joanna’s fluent Spanish helped save the day. (P.S. If you’re ever in Mexico, the advice is to have proof of your legal status with you at all times; Mexican police have detained EU/UK nationals without documents). 

We wandered around the zócalo (main square), a pretty tranquil place with some trendy bars and restaurants, dominated by the San Felipe Fort (a stone fort built in 1733 to defend the town from marauding pirates roaming the coast). Now a museum, a visit to the fort is made more special because it boasts panoramic views of the lake. The streets around the square are brightened by colourful murals and street art, and south of the square is lined with market stalls and local eateries. Of course, we headed to Mr. Taco, famous among backpackers as the best place for cheap but delicious tacos. (They weren’t the best tacos I’ve ever had but they were pretty good).

By far our favourite activity over those couple of days was wandering along the lakefront. Bacalar lake does not have traditional beaches so access to the lake is only via walkways/piers. You can do it in one of two ways, spending time at a balneario (a beach-club-like hangout often attached to a hotel, cafe/restaurant or both) or by using one of the public piers dotted along the coast. We did a bit of both. We were lucky to find quiet piers to sit and watch the enchanting lake, as its colour changed at sunrise (teal), midday (aquamarine) and sunset (indigo). We played a game, trying to find spots where we could see the most range of colours on the lake at the same time: Joanna counted 5 shades.  

Bacalar Lagoon is a freshwater lake, longer than it is wide (42km by 2km), it’s fed by underwater cenotes (natural underground reservoirs of water formed by the collapse of an overlying limestone bedrock). There are four cenotes dotted around the lagoon, and visits to a couple are on the itinerary of most boat tours. The most common activities in the area are water-based – swimming, diving, snorkelling, kayaking, paddle boarding etc. I’d planned to go on a boat tour on my last day in Bacalar however the weather gods had other ideas and I burrowed under my duvet for most of the day, as a thunderstorm lashed the town. Definitely wish I’d booked the tour on day 1! That would be my pro-tip, a boat tour should be the first thing you do on a visit to this town.

There are a few other activities to do in the town such as discover Stromatolites (rocky formations that are the oldest fossils and ecosystem in the world), visit Bird Island (migratory bird species flock to this rock in the middle of the lake) or take a trip to the many Mayan ruins in the local area (Kohunlich, the most impressive, is only an hour away). 

Bacalar is the place to go if you’re in search of slow travel: its small town -vibe juxtaposed against the experience of exploring the most spectacularly clear blue body of water is the perfect antidote to a harried life. 

Visited July 2022

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