Compostela, Nayarit

It is part of Nayarit’s Magical Towns offering and is one of the oldest settlements in the state, as the city was founded in 1530 by Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán with the name “Villa del Espíritu de la Nueva Galicia.”

Its municipal seat boasts historic buildings like the Parish of Santiago Apóstol, built during colonial times. You can also witness the traditional leatherwork produced in the area, and along its coastal area, you can find beautiful beaches with granulated sands and wonderful waves ideal for surfers.

Compostela is located 50 minutes from Tepic, 2 hours and 30 minutes from Puerto Vallarta, and 2 hours and 40 minutes from Guadalajara. It borders to the north with the Municipality of San Blas and Jalisco, to the east with San Pedro Lagunillas, to the southeast with San Sebastián del Oeste, to the south and southwest with Bahía de Banderas, and to the west with the Pacific Ocean.

• Coral Island: A beautiful oasis with white sand, blue waters, and coral reefs, transformed into an ecological reserve for turtles, pelicans, seagulls, boobies, corals, mantas, “palmita” (a type of palm), white flowers, multicolored fish, and starfish. It can be reached by boat from Rincón de Guayabitos.
• Platanitos Beach: Located in the southern part of the municipality, it has calm waves, ideal for swimming and relaxing. You can fish and enjoy delicious dishes like grilled snapper or red snapper prepared in the palm-thatched huts or “ramadas” by the seashore.
• Museum of Archaeology and History: Dating back to the 1970s, it exhibits various archaeological pieces found, including sculptures with anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, and phytomorphic expressions, musical instruments, wedges, chisels, axes, and bowls.
• AltaVista: It is an archaeological site near the town of Chacala dating back to 300 BC. There, you can admire impressive petroglyphs made by natives who descended from the Tecoxquin culture, providing insights into the lives and beliefs of these ancient inhabitants, as the paintings refer to health, fertility, weather, and crops, among other things.
• Learn about leatherworking: In addition to learning about this beautiful craft, you can purchase handmade representative products such as saddles, forges, covers, keychains, belts, sandals, and bags with incredible artistic details.
• Punta Custodio Natural Park: It is the ideal place for ecology enthusiasts, where you can learn more about turtles in one of the most important turtle camps in the country. You can also volunteer to participate in programs to monitor nesting and protect turtle eggs.
• Whale Watching: Rincón de Guayabitos, Frideritas, Los Ayala, and nearby beaches are the perfect places for whale watching from July to October. The best way to do this is on one of the beachfront tours.
• Tortugas Beach: It stretches for 8 kilometers, and to get there, you have to walk through a vegetation trail, and at the end, you will be greeted by a unique and breathtaking landscape with high cliffs, perfectly aligned palm trees, a beautiful estuary, and the vastness of the sea. It is an almost virgin beach, home to birds and reptiles, and is named after the fact that several species of sea turtles come here annually to nest.
• Explore the forests: Due to Compostela’s privileged geographical location, in addition to the beaches, you can enjoy ecotourism activities such as cycling or camping in the forested area of the municipality.