Why this ride
It goes by way of El Vizcaíno, Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci and back through El Vizcaíno. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino and Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 431 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 9 h 45
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino
The Vizcaíno desert crosses the Baja California peninsula at its waist, a wide, flat plain of salt, scrub and cardon cactus that runs from the Pacific to the Gulf, and in it lies a sanctuary for the grey whale. El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve, one of the largest in Latin America, takes in two huge coastal lagoons where the whales come every winter to mate and give birth. UNESCO listed the sanctuary in 1993.
Read the complete Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino is where the day begins. Next is El Vizcaíno.
2. El Vizcaíno
Baja California is a long, thin peninsula, and El Vizcaino is where it gets properly wide. The biosphere reserve covers a huge, dry belt of the central peninsula, from the Pacific lagoons on one side to the Sierra de San Francisco on the other, and it is named after Sebastian Vizcaino, the Spanish captain who sailed these coasts in 1602. Scattered over the desert are the strange plants that make Baja famous, the towering cardon cactus, the squat elephant tree, and the cirio or boojum, a tall tapering spike that looks like an upside-down carrot with a few frizzy branches. After a rare rain the ground is briefly green.
Read the complete El Vizcaíno write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
El Vizcaíno comes up 89 km in. Next is Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci.
3. Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci
Far down the Baja California peninsula, in the mountains above the Pacific coast, are some of the finest rock paintings in the Americas. The Sierra de San Francisco is a rugged range of volcanic mesas and deep canyons, and in the shelters and overhangs along the canyon walls the Cochimí people and their ancestors painted enormous figures: humans, deer, rabbits, birds, snakes and whales, in red, black, white and yellow. Many of the human figures are life-size or bigger, with arms raised, some pierced by arrows, and the older panels are thought to be a few hundred to several thousand years old. UNESCO listed the site in 1993.
Read the complete Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
177 km in you reach Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci. Next is back through El Vizcaíno.
4. back through El Vizcaíno
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete El Vizcaíno write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through El Vizcaíno, late in the day. Next is Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino.
5. Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino to El Vizcaíno
Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino → El Vizcaíno is 96 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
El Vizcaíno to Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci
El Vizcaíno → Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci is 81 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci to back through El Vizcaíno
Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci → back through El Vizcaíno is 81 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through El Vizcaíno to Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino
back through El Vizcaíno → Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino is 96 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.