All about Río Lagartos in Mexico

The biosphere reserve Río Lagartos is located on the Emerald Coast on the northern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula. Río Lagartos is actually a lagoon, not a river. It was incorrectly named by the Spanish conquistadors and the name then persisted.

Especially for nature lovers, a boat trip in the lagoon is a highlight. If you like, you can rent a boat for a 2-hour trip for about 2,000 pesos.

The exciting thing about the place is that there are different ecosystems, consisting of coastal dunes, wetlands, tropical dry and deciduous forest, savannah and mangroves.

As a result, there is a very diverse flora and fauna. There are more than 400 bird species, including rare toucans, herons and pelicans, falcons, storks, cormorants and sea eagles.

Most visitors look forward to seeing the flamingos, which are at the lagoon all year round. Crocodiles can often be seen as well. In 2004, the region was declared an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

The Emerald Coast

The Emerald Coast (Costa Esmeralda in Spanish) is an unofficial name for the the 98 km long coastal area in the north of the Yucatan Peninsula. The name comes from the emerald colored water.

Some interesting figures:

A few tips

Las Coloradas, a beautiful biosphere area, characterized by it's pink lagoons, mangroves forests and flamingos, is only a few kilometres away, so you should definitely combine the two destinations.

As already written, you should pay attention to the travel time, depending on how important the bird life is to you. Another tip: You should use insect protection, because especially in the mangroves there are a lot of mosquitoes.

If you want to photograph the flamingos (or animals in general), you should use a zoom lens. The boats stay at a safe distance to avoid disturbing the birds.

Without a decent zoom lens, the impressive flamingo will otherwise become just a pink blob on the photo. And on the other hand, an ultra-wide angle lens is a good choice for the landscape shots.

How to get to Río Lagartos from Mérida?

Río Lagartos is a long day trip from Mérida. By car, take highway 176 east and at Tízmin take highway 295 north to Río Lagartos. The bus from Mérida to Río Lagartos leaves from the bus station "Terminal de Autobuses Noreste", Calle 67, No. 529 (Calle 67 x Calle 50).