The town was named after Saint Rosalia, although the reason for the name is not quite clear since the Misión de Santa Rosalía is not located by the town, but rather in Mulegé, about 100 km (62 mi) south, and the local parish is devoted to Santa Bárbara.

Santa Rosalía boasts French influence, particularly in its architecture. The French company El Boleo founded the town in 1884 and exploited copper mines there until they closed in 1954. They built houses and installed the metallic Iglesia de Santa Bárbara, which is argued to have been designed by Gustave Eiffel.

Unlike many other mining sites, the industrial facilities which are located in the very middle of the town were never dismantled. Of particular interest are the reverberatory furnace and the metallurgical converter, although they are currently not accessible by the public due to safety concerns. Old locomotives, mining equipment, and machinery are visible everywhere. The main mining company offices (La dirección) have been converted into an industrial museum.

Santa Rosalia is recognized for its authentic beauty and its airs of a French city between the Mexican desert and the sea. Its Gallo-style architecture makes it a unique place in our country. At present, the industrial facilities of the old mine remain a witness to its flowering.

Santa Rosalía is a town of Baja California Sur located in the municipality of Mulegé on the shores of the Sea of ​​Cortez. This town considered a small city is the main head of this municipality that stands out for spectacular desert landscapes facing the sea. It was founded by Europeans, who began exploring the region in the early 1700s as part of the evangelization process. Almost a century later, after discovering the abundance of valuable minerals in the region, the Compagnie du Boleo mining company from France was founded in this port, which obtained the concession thanks to President Porfirio Díaz.

The French company began to create a mining empire in this town, for which it ordered the construction of houses, churches, and schools for the families of thousands of workers. For more than 50 years, until the early twentieth century, Santa Rosalia was the only city on the peninsula of Baja California with electric power, and the second in the country, after Mexico City.

Thanks to the exploitation of copper deposits, this town experienced a time of great technological abundance at the time, which came from Europe to keep the mining facilities in optimal conditions. However, after depleting the natural resource of the region, the company closed its doors leaving a town already consolidated as one of the strongest economies in the Northwest.

Currently, all the houses and buildings of the city center keep intact the French colonial style of that time, as an act of preserving the tradition that formed this town. In addition to being a tourist attraction, since there is no other place in Mexico that maintains this architectural style.

The Government Palace, the Church of Santa Barbara, the French Hotel and the Barrio Francia, is the oldest and most representative buildings of that time, for which they were based on designs by the same engineer Gustave Eiffel, creator of the Eiffel Tower, a world icon.

In addition to the French atmosphere that maintains the town, Santa Rosalia is also famous for its old bakeries, French legacy, which make a rich bread in a stone oven as it was then.

Among the natural attractions that surround Santa Rosalia, we can highlight the beautiful beaches of Bahía de Concepción and Las 3 Vírgenes Volcano in the middle of the desert, one of the highest peaks of the peninsula. To get to this place there are two options: the land route by the Tijuana-Los Cabos Transpeninsular Highway, or the sea route, through a ferry that connects with the port of Guaymas, Sonora.

The Church of Santa Barbara is the first prefabricated church that was installed in Mexico. It was brought from Brussels at the end of the 19th century by the then director of the mining company El Boleo. Besides, it was designed by Gustave Eiffel in 1884 and was exhibited at the world exhibition in Paris in 1889. Installed in Santa Rosalia in 1897 and built entirely with iron, some stained glass windows of great artistic value stand out on its altar. The ornaments, the chandeliers and the Gothic altarpiece of the altar were imported from Europe.

In the Museum and Municipal Archive, in what were the former administrative offices of the mining company El Boleo, an important collection of pieces, tools, and objects that guarantee the prosperous mining past of the region is now exhibited. In its French architecture, characteristic of the time, its facade stands out, where exterior corridors with railings and wooden slats can be seen.

On San Marcos Island you will meet some active and huge gypsum mines, which are only 30 kilometers by road to the south of Santa Rosalia; They will take you to the small town of San Bruno, where a small population of mining workers lives. The waters that surround it represent an adventure for expert divers, who will find reef banks and marine species such as dogfish and sharks.

You can visit the Tres Vírgenes volcano where you will meet some active and huge gypsum mines, which are only 30 kilometers away by road to the south of Santa Rosalia; They will take you to the small town of San Bruno, where a small population of mining workers lives. The waters that surround it represent an adventure for expert divers, who will find reef banks and marine species such as dogfish and sharks. It is one of the three geological formations that are part of the volcanic complex, together with the Azufre and El Viejo volcano. It is located 33 kilometers by road to the north of Santa Rosalía, it is the favorite volcano of mountaineers and climbers who like challenges since its altitude is 2,554 meters above sea level. From its cusp, a large part of the splendid Mar de Cortés is observed, while its southern face flows into a large crater. The Geothermal is located right here, from where the electric energy flows to Santa Rosalía and San Ignacio.

Undoubtedly, a place that is worth knowing and the easiest way is with Easy Trip. Let us take you.

The Programa Pueblos Mágicos (“Magical Towns Programme”) was an initiative led by Mexico’s Secretariat of Tourism, with the support from other federal agencies, to promote a series of towns around the country that offer visitors a “magical” experience – by reason of their natural beauty, cultural richness, traditions, folklore, historical relevance, cuisine, art crafts and great hospitality.

The Mexican Ministry or Secretariat of Tourism acknowledges that México´s magical experience is not only in the famous sun and beaches, but it is also much more than that. The success of Mexico is due in part to the great Mexican hospitality and culture, which keeps many tourists coming back.

The Government created the ‘Pueblos Mágicos’ program to recognize places across the country that imbue certain characteristics that make them unique, historically significant, with great traditions, and offer magical experiences to its visitors. A “Magical Village” is a place with symbolism, legends, history, important events, festivals, traditions, great food, and fun interactive shopping, day-to-day life – in other words, “magic” in its social and cultural manifestations, with great opportunities for tourism. Every Pueblo Magico offers a special experience to the visitor.

The program was launched in 2001 and by 2012 a total of 83 towns and villages in all 31 states have been awarded the title or nomination of Pueblo Mágico. The program created pride, recognition for its local citizens and it was part of the diversification strategy from Secretary of Tourism to promote culture and Mexican traditions.

The program has offered opportunities to citizens to create a living from tourism, and it has made significant contributions to the economies of not only the pueblos but also the entire regions, as visitors’ spending created important jobs in the towns with the most economic needs. Towns with over 5 thousand citizens are receiving more than 20 thousand visitors during the weekends, which contributes to the economy and the well-being of its residents.

Baja California Sur has two Magical Towns: Todos Santos and Loreto. Let us tell you a little more about them. 

TODOS SANTOS

Todos Santos is a small coastal town in the foothills of the Sierra de la Laguna Mountains, on the Pacific coast side of the Baja California Peninsula, about an hour’s drive north of Cabo San Lucas and an hour’s drive southwest from La Paz. Todos Santos is located very near the Tropic of Cancer in the municipality of La Paz. 

This little colonial artist town oozes the charm and charisma of an older, more traditional Mexico. The beautiful, vast beaches right outside town attract surfers who enjoy the relatively uncrowded waves. Todos Santos is unspoiled Baja at its best.

The mission at what is now Todos Santos, Misión Santa Rosa de las Palmas was founded by father Jaime Bravo in 1723. In 1724 it was renamed Nuestra Señora del Pilar de La Paz. Located across the street to the southwest from the small town plaza, this mission contains the statue of the Virgin of Pilar, which is the focus of Todos Santos’s main festival in November.

More recently, there has been a gradual increase in tourist activity and a boom in real estate development. Handicraft shops, owner-operated art galleries featuring landscape paintings of local scenes (some artists from Guadalajara and other parts of Mexico also exhibit works in Todos Santos), upscale restaurants, boutique hotels and restored colonial buildings have contributed to the gentrification and redevelopment of the town. There a few annual festivals including the Festival de Cine and the Todos Santos Music Festival.

The Hotel California is a favorite stop because of the name associated with the song made famous by the Eagles, even though the song does not specifically reference this particular hotel, nor any other existing hotel. 

There are many beautiful beaches within a 15-minute drive of Todos Santos. Playa Las Palmas and Playa Los Cerritos are great beaches for swimming and shell collecting. San Pedrito Point, Los Cerritos, and other local surf breaks attract surfers from around the world. There are many accommodations both at San Pedrito and at Cerritos beach.

Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, was named a “Pueblo Mágico” in 2006.

LORETO

Loreto (or Conchó) is a resort town and municipal seat of Loreto Municipality, located on the Gulf of California in eastern Baja California Sur state, Mexico. In 2019, the city of 20,385 inhabitants is located about 350 km (220 mi) north of La Paz, the capital of Baja California Sur state. The city is a tourist resort, catering mostly to American travelers, with daily flights from California to Loreto International Airport.

Loreto is the oldest settlement in Baja. It is home to the first mission of all of California, which was established in 1697. With the quaint little town, the beautiful waters of the Sea of Cortez, and the Coronado islands right offshore, Loreto draws tourists who come to fish, dive, snorkel and relax.

Loreto was the first Spanish colonial settlement of the Viceroyalty of New Spain on the Baja California Peninsula.

The town was founded in 1697 by Jesuit missionaries, who found a steady spring of freshwater on this site, as the Misión Nuestra Señora de Loreto. The Jesuits were expelled in 1767, and control of the Baja California missions was given to the Franciscans. In 1769, the Franciscans were ordered to turn over the Baja missions to the Dominican order and accompany the expedition of Gaspar de Portolà to establish new missions in the unexplored northern frontier that became Alta California. The expedition departed from Loreto on March 24, 1769.

There are seven buildings in Loreto from the 18th to the 20th century that are considered historical monuments by the federal government; the most important is the Mission of our Lady of Loreto, which is at the start of El Camino Real (“The Royal Road”), an historic corridor that follows north along the ancient route of the Spanish missions, to its ending in Sonoma, California, USA. In the neighboring town of San Javier are five historical buildings, most importantly the Mission of Saint Francis Xavier (Misión de San Francisco Javier), the best-preserved mission in the peninsula. The ruins of Mission of San Bruno, the first mission of Baja California, founded in 1683 by Jesuit missionary explorer Padre Eusebio Kino. It was ordered abandoned by the Spanish Crown a mere two years later. It is located twenty kilometers north of Loreto.

The Jesuit Missions Museum (Museo de las Misiones Jesuíticas) is located beside the Mission of our Lady of Loreto. It has a collection of religious art, weapons, and tools from the 17th and 18th centuries that were used in the Spanish missions in Baja California.

In the “La Giganta” Mountain Range (“Sierra de la Giganta”), there are cave paintings in canyons and rock shelters. The nearest sites to Loreto are “Cuevas Pintas” (15 km to the west) and “La Pingüica” (60 km to the North). The cave paintings from the indigenous groups of Baja California are world-famous and some of them have been added to UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites.

These two most than magical places are only a few but important reasons to come to Baja California, and we want to be sure that you get to know them. We have day trips and tours to take you to visit and enjoy them at it most!