Baja California : An ecological paradise

1250 kilometres long, the peninsula of Baja California is one of the planet’s last ecological paradises. Without counting the northern part of the region, more densely populated, and the small corridor of Los Cabos, in the south, this large tongue of desert land, ridged with mountain ranges plunging into the sea, has essentially remained unspoiled. Dotted with 244 islands and islets listed as world heritage sites, it boasts the biggest nature reserve in Latin America and on its own is home to nearly 40% of all the marine mammals found on Earth. “A magical and unreal place” for the great American writer John Steinbeck who travelled up and down along the peninsula in a boat in the 1940s, “the world’s aquarium” according to Commandant Jacques Cousteau, in raptures about the incredibly rich waters of the Sea of Cortez, Baja California still inspires wonder in lovers of nature and big open spaces.