With its well-preserved mission church poking above the date palms, San Ignacio offers a glimpse into traditional Baja. The Gulf of California adds a rich and wonderfully wet element to a dry, dusty environment.

The sleepy mountain town of San Ignacio greets the traveller like a heat-induced mirage. Its Jesuit founders planted date palms and orange and fig trees at this desert oasis, and Dominicans complete the lava-stone Iglesia de San Ignacio de Loyola adjacent to the main plaza.

San Ignacio serves as a base for whale watching excursions to Laguna San Ignacio, and backcountry treks to prehistoric rock paintings in the mountains. Visitors trek into the surrounding mountains to see cave art at San Borjitas, Trinidad, or Piedras Pintas, or fish, kayak, snorkel, or sailboard along the rocky coast.