Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca

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Coordinates: 15°51′43″N 97°04′02″W / 15.861835, -97.067283

For other uses, see Puerto Escondido.
A view of Puerto Escondido
A view of Puerto Escondido

Puerto Escondido (literally: "Hidden Port") is a port city and tourist center in the municipality of San Pedro Mixtepec Distrito 22 in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It had a population of 20,178 as of the 2005 census.

The town was established more than a century ago as a fishing village with a small port for shipping coffee.[1] although the area has been inhabited by indigenous populations for centuries. It later became a popular destination after Federal Highway 200 was built along the country's Pacific Ocean coast during the 1960s. The primary attractions are the beautiful beaches and championship surfing. It attracts thousands of surfing enthusiasts annually. Puerto Escondido is also an extremely popular destination for backpackers from all over the world and used to be a quite famous hippie getaway.

The port does continue to support commercial fishing activity.

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[edit] Development of town

Puerto Escondido was not accessible by road until the late 1950's, when a road to Oaxaca city was opened through Sola de Vega (131). A few years later, the paved coast highway (200) was first opened through to Pochutla, and then afterwards westward to Rio Grande, and finally on to Acapulco. Since then, Puerto Escondido was made more accessible with the paving of Federal Highways 175 and 131, connecting the area with the interior of the State of Oaxaca and its capitol, Oaxaca city. Building the airport, Aeropuerto Internacional de Puerto Escondido, further opened up the area to tourism. During the period, more bungalows, hotels, and restaurants were constructed, however, it has never undergone the transformation that Cancun and Huatulco experienced.[1]

[edit] The town

The heart of Puerto Escondido is Avenida Pérez Gasga, better known as "El Adoquinado" or "La Zona Adoquinada". Here, beginning with a statue of Benito Juárez can be found five areas filled with bars, hotels, cafes, restaurants, discoteques, craft shops, pharmacies, internet cafes, corner stores, tour operators and scuba diving rental.[1]

[edit] Beaches

There are two main beaches, Playa Principal and Zicatela, as well as several other smaller beaches. The Playa Principal is in the far northeast of the bay, directly in front of the oldest part of town. It is 500 meters long with fine, gray sand and low to moderate surf. This is the primary place to hire boats. These boats take tourists to otherwise-inaccessible beaches, to see purpoises and marine turtles or for deep-sea fishing.[1]

The Sueño Posible Sea Walk begins at Playa Principal and winds along rocky oceanside cliffs. Up the hill from the Adoquín is the coastal highway 200 and on the other side of that is the downtown business district where you can find banks, the mercado, etc.

Playa Zicatela is the other major beach of Puerto Escondido. It is separated from the other beaches by an rocky outcropping called "El Morro". The beach is 40 to 50 meters wide and a couple of km long with large waves that reach up to 6 meters. It is a world-class place for surfing.[1]

There are several other notable beaches. Puerto Angelito is a 100-meter beach with low surf. Playa Manzanillo is separated from Puerto Angelito by a rocky outcropping. It is 70 meters long with moderate surf. It has restaurants and boat rentals, and has become popular lately. Both these beaches have water that varies in color from emerald green to turquoise blue. Playa Carrizalillo has fine, white sand, low surf and cobalt blue water edged in light green.¨´Playa Bacocho is to the extreme west of Puerto Escondido with large hotels and beach clubs. It has fine, soft sand, palm trees, warm, blue-green water and a moderate surf although the far west part of the beach can have a strong undertow. It faces southwest, offering good views of the sunset. Playa Marinero is just off the Playa Principall and has surf strong enough for beginning surfers and boogie-boarding.[1]

[edit] Transportation

Puerto Escondido has a small international airport with a daily flight to Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City with Click Mexicana. There are also daily flights to Xoxocotlán International Airport in Oaxaca City with AeroTucan and Aerovega.

[edit] Water sports

Puerto Escondido is best-known for deep-sea fishing (esp. for sailfish), and surfing.[1]

Playa Zicatela is a famous surf break located in Puerto Escondido. This is considered one of the world's best surfing breaks. It is held in the same category as pipeline in Hawaii. This wave has been nicknamed "the Mexican Pipeline". While there are waves year-round, the summer months (April-Sept) provide substantially larger swell.

However - normal bathers need to be careful of the rip current at certain tides. It can sometimes be surprisingly difficult to get out on the north beach.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Quintanar Hinojosa, Beatriz (August 2007). "[www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx Puerto Escondido: pasión y adrenalina]". Guía México Desconocido: Oaxaca 137: 56-66.