Santa Maria del Oro, Pacific Coast, Mexico

4Shaan 5:00 PM May 20, 2021

Tranquil
Stayed at the hotel Siete Cielos close to the lake in the newer rooms , which were around 66 dollars a night. Good value for money, and close to everything. It's a nice pit stop on the way to Guadalajara for a day or so of biking or Kayaking around the lake. Nice walk to the waterfalls

5Agent84 5:00 PM Jul 27, 2014

Mystical Beautiful Lush
Brace yourself as this will be a long review. We slept in Tepic NAY at a hotel near La Loma. Me and my brother woke up early to run twice around this huge municipal park so we can get our bodies going. 8am We headed up to Santa Maria del Oro. Now ive heard about this majestic place from several friends most recently from a coworker. She has family in Tepic and really recommended the place as a must go to. I also had a friend who swears that there is a special vibe almost an energy to this place that you feel once there. Rumors of its bottomless crater lake. Talks of Chicharron de Pescado. And deaths from the winding road down from the town into the actual village surrounding the lake. Upon arrival into town we stopped at a "mirador" (view of the lake below) took some pictures and talked with the native huichol indian girls who were bilingual. Sure enough the stories were true it is about a 30 minute maybe less drive down into la laguna. Lush green jungle an explosion of flora and fauna. We had no idea where we were going to stay or if there were any hotels. The entrance to the lakeside village has a mini cafe where you can find everything you would find at a seven eleven and then some. Small houses and establishments mainly restaurants and mercados. One thing i noticed quick was that it was very quiet. You could hear all the birds sing and flutter. The buzzing of insects. It was quietly alive. 15 minutes into the village cobblestone road and some gains and losses of elevation and we were at the gates of what looked like a hotel. Only that it was mainly cabins, beautiful wooden cabins, and the grounds were fantastic. This is another review all together, I will keep it at Santa Maria in general. Slept here for one night. (see review) We swam in the lake once we settled in. It was probably around 6pm. The waters were cool right above lukewarm. The water, sweet. This is where the beauty and life altering experience is. Once you are in the lake, swimming, and looking up toward the surrounding hills is when it really hits you. This place sure is special and not too many tourists wander up here. But it is very rewarding. As soon as you walk in the lake there is a drop off of unknown depths (they say) so you have to quickly start swimming even if the water is at your knees. The next morning we woke up early for another dip. 7am and it was like a huge natural pool of fresh water. I put the goggles and fins on to see life below. But quickly took the goggles off as the idea of a bottomless lake that turns blue then grey then completely black is not easily fathomable. Depth. After this we had some breakfast. 1hr later me and my brother jumped on a pair of mountain bikes and decided to ride around the lake. How hard could it be? after all we are two experienced southern california MTB'ers. Off we went! Let me start by saying that only about 40% of the lake is paved or cobblestone road. The rest is dirt and it goes up and down AROUND. The sun was grueling and the heat and humidity were pounding at us. We found another really secluded hotel that looked like reservation only. Some mezcal farms. And a few houses here and there but, mainly just a dirt fireroad going aroundthe lake full trees and animals...and insects. Insects insects insects... There were times as we were swooping down the road where we would dart right thru swarms of colorful butterflies and other buggies. Returned dehydrated and showered. Packed up as our destination was PV. Before leaving we stopped at a local restaurant for some world famous Chicharron de Pescado. Salsas, lemons, and tortillas fired up we got 4 orders of this dish. Its like small pieces of lakefish battered and deep fried. Served in taco fashion plus purple onion, lemon , and salsa. Delicious and authentic. As I was leaving i remembered what my friend had mentioned about the mysticism of this place. There definitely is a calm soothing energy here, its strange. And no its not the i'm on vacation relaxation. Its something else, something very thought provoking beautiful. It was a shock to me to take it all in on one night/ two days. I want to come back here. I have to, i will come back. Its magnetism is strange i havent felt this way about any other place...