Los Cabos: 15 Interesting Facts
We’ve compiled our list of the top 15 most interesting facts about this destination that many of us like to visit and others call “home.”
1. Situated at the tip of the 760-mile-long Baja Peninsula, earth’s second-longest peninsula (only the Malay Peninsula is longer), Los Cabos (“The Capes”) is the chosen name for the destination’s 20-mile coastal corridor. The corridor’s Transpeninsular Highway connects San Jose del Cabo, a well-preserved colonial city circa 1730; to Cabo San Lucas, a lively party town wrapped around a world-class marina.
2. Located 30 miles south of the Tropic of Cancer, Los Cabos enjoys a mild, Mediterranean-like climate. The average year-round temperature is 78°F. With more than 320 days of sunshine, low humidity, and cooling sea breezes, Los Cabos is a subtropical paradise. Warm, mild days, and cool evenings prevail from November through June. The rainy season typically arrives in September. The region receives an average of six to 10 inches of rain per year.
3. When Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes arrived in 1535, he named the Gulf of California the Sea of Cortez. The region’s main indigenous group at that time was the Pericus, a polygamous, hunter-gatherer tribe that subsisted on seeds, fruits, fish, reptiles, small mammals and deer. The first pirate in the area was Sir Francis Drake in 1578, followed by Thomas Cavendish, “The Navigator.” These English pirates raided Spanish galleons carrying treasures from the Far East.
4. El Arco (the Arch) is an iconic rock formation that juts out of the sea among towering rock pinnacles at a place known as Land's End. Roughly three stories high, the taffy-colored arch is a marvelous example of organic architecture. Surprising fact: the arch predates the sea by millions of years. In popular imagination, El Arco is where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez. In fact, the two seas meet at a place marked by El Faro Viejo, the landmark 1905 lighthouse that clings to a bluff near the ninth tee at Quivira Golf Club.
5. Choyero is the nickname for those born in the state of Baja California Sur, specifically the Los Cabos region. (Only about 15% of the area’s population are Cabo natives). The word refers to the cholla cactus, a prickly desert dweller covered with sharp barbed spines that easily detach from the parent plant and cling to unsuspecting passersby.
6. Los Cabos is on Mexican Pacific Standard Time. Daylight Savings Time is no longer observed.
7. With approximately 3.4 million visitors expected this year, Cabo is second only to Cancun among Mexico’s leading vacation getaways. Seven out of 10 visitors to Los Cabos are repeat guests. Ninety percent of first-time visitors say they would return.
8. The region’s geography is a rare mix of cactus-studded desert, golden sand beaches, and dramatic rock outcrops. Behind the desert foothills, stark mountain peaks in the Sierra de la Laguna rise to more than 6,000 feet.
9. In the span of 30 years, Los Cabos has evolved into an elite golf destination. Three of its venues, including the spectacular Jack Nicklaus Signature course at Quivira Golf Club, are fixtures on Golf Digest’s roster of the “World’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses.”
10. There’s a scuba diving spot in San Lucas Bay known for its underwater sand waterfall, where sand cascades to a 1,200-foot canyon below. This rare phenomenon (advanced divers only) was first discovered by French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau during his visit to the region in the 1960’s. Cousteau once described the Sea of Cortez as “The Aquarium of the World,” a reference to its schools of large pelagic species and teeming marine life.
11. Los Cabos, a.k.a. “Marlin Alley,” is a premier sport-fishing capital. More big-game fish are caught here than anywhere else in the world. Catch and release is the general rule for billfish. Blue and black marlin season runs from June through December. Striped marlin is plentiful year-round. Tuna, dorado, sailfish, wahoo, and roosterfish are among the prized species that swim in Cabo’s nutrient-rich waters.
12. Starting in mid-December, hundreds of whales migrate from the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean to the warm, calm waters surrounding the Baja Peninsula. Balmy weather, ideal salinity and ample food sources make the bays and lagoons around Los Cabos the perfect place for whales to birth and rear their calves. Of the eight species that venture to Los Cabos, the most common are humpback whales, which routinely spout close to shore and thrust themselves out of the water in fantastic leaps. A whale-watching excursion is a great way to observe these magnificent animals.
13. Medano Beach, (Playa El Médano), a broad, two-mile stretch of soft sand lapped by calm waters, is the most popular beach in Cabo San Lucas. Here can be found activity rentals for water sports, informal restaurants and two of Pueblo Bonito’s oceanfront resorts: Pueblo Bonito Los Cabos and Rose.
14. U.S. dollars are widely accepted in Los Cabos, though most restaurants and retail outlets list prices in pesos. If you do use dollars, you will most likely get pesos in change. All major credit cards are accepted in Los Cabos. If you need cash, there are many ATM’s in Cabo, but be aware that most will dispense only pesos.
15. English is widely spoken in Los Cabos, especially in the tourism sector. English-speaking tour guides, hotel managers, and waiters are common. However, try to speak a little Spanish. Locals will appreciate the effort. “Hola” (hello), “por favor” (please), “gracias” (thank you), and “de nada” (you're welcome) are easy to pronounce and a great way to get started.