Espiritu Santo is one of the world’s best-preserved sanctuaries. You’ve haven’t fully experienced La Paz until you take a boat ride to its barrier islands Espiritu Santo and Partida. Closest to the Pichilingue Peninsula, Isla Espiritu stretches 19 km (11 miles) long and 5 km (3 miles) wide. It boasts dozens of lovely bays, rich marine life and land-based reptiles, birds, and amphibians. This 23,800-acre desert is one of the most unspoiled ecosystems in Baja. It boasts five species of mammals and reptiles, including a ring-tailed cat, black jackrabbit and a ground squirrel that are unique to the island. Archeologists have found evidence that humans stepped upon this island as long as 40,000 years ago.Isla Espiritu Santo is a marvel of natural conservation and evolution.

The Velasco Garden is a hub of activity day and night. In Mexican cities the zocalo (main square) is the heart of cultural and political life. La Paz’s main square, Velasco Garden, has been rebuilt and modernized since colonial days. On one side stands the Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Paz, built in 1861 by Dominican priests on the site of the city’s original Jesuit mission, built in 1720. Inside, you’ll find paintings rescued from old missions. On the plaza’s north side you will see the former Palacio de Gobierno, now housing the Biblioteca de Historia Regional de las Californias (Library of Regional History of the Californias) and a Youth Center. A meeting point for locals and visitors, the Velasco Garden or Constitution Plaza is an inviting place to relax.

Though La Paz is better known as a place to experience nature, the city also has some intriguing cultural offerings. If you want to delve into the history of La Paz make a visit to the Regional Anthropology and History Museum of South Baja California, located right in the heart of town. In a modern building with four exhibition halls, the museum displays the paleontological and archeological remains found in the region. An interesting collection of fossils date back to 60 million years. Cave paintings and engraved rocks depict the everyday life of the first inhabitants in the peninsula. A good selection of books tells the fascinating history of the region’s first Jesuit missions. Before the end of your tour, be sure to visit the botanical garden.

Spread out your blanket on a swath of golden sand and admire the “aquarium of the world”. Within a ten- to 45-minute drive from central La Paz you’ll find some of the best beaches on the Baja. To the north of town along Pichilingue Peninsula (Highway 11) are several attractive, desert- backed beaches. Along road to Pichilingue, Marina Palmira, is an attractive complex with a marina, hotel and a condo development. La Concha Beach Resort has a new Fiesta Inn hotel and Marina Costa Baja. Beach facilities are somewhat limited, but the setting is pure magic with calm warm water and soft white sand backed by mangroves and cactus-studded mountains. Pichilingue is also home to the La Paz ferry terminus and a large commercial harbor.