Loreto Historic Town:
Perched on a ten-mile arc of beach beside the sparkling waters of Loreto Bay, and looking east across the water to the islands that define the bay, or west toward the imposing face of the 5000 foot Giganta mountain range, is the historic town of Loreto. It was first settled in 1697, and is one of the oldest European settlements anywhere on the Baja. In the center of town is Nuestra Senora de Loreto, the first of all the missions in all the “Californias,” (present day Baja California, and the entire west coast all the way north to the Oregon border).
The city is recognized for its enormous diversity of natural attractions, pleasant climate, tourist infrastructure, and well-preserved colonial village atmosphere. It is the perfect mix of a tranquil beach town and an ecological adventure-mecca with traditional Mexican culture and exquisite natural beauty side by side with modern-day pursuits such as scuba, snorkeling, kayaking, sailing and motor boating, and whale watching.
The town’s waterside has been developed with a beautiful palm-tree-lined mile-long Malecon (beachside promenade) and a small service marina, all undiscovered by mass tourism. There is a thriving community of several hundred ex-pats with real estate ownership in the city and at Loreto Bay, located about five miles south of town.