Mulege Baja Mexico

Photography by Bill Bell

Mulege lies 38 miles south of Santa Rosalia, one of the prettiest and laid back towns in Baja California Sur. The village is situated between two hills covered with date palms.  The Mulege river flows through the valley and into an estuary which flows to the sea; edged by huge palm trees, orchards and fences where bougainvilleas of all colors tangle.  Several full serviced Rv parks line the the course of the river just south of the entrance to the town.  Photographs by Bill Bell.  Just click on the photographs to view in larger format.

This wonderful place was first discovered by European, the Jesuit father Juan María de Salvatierra on his return from a trip to Sonora. Salvatierra made his first exploration trip in 1702. In August 1703 the fathers Francisco María Piccolo and Juan María Basaldúa arrived. The last one, father Juan de Ugarte, a Honduran Missionary, founded in 1705 the mission called Santa Rosalía de Mulege. The origin of the name Mulegé drifts from the Cochimíes (the local Indians) voices "Carmaañc galexá", that means "Large Ravine of the White Mouth".

In 1754 father Francisco Escalante began the formal construction of the church's mission, which was completed in 1766. Built with stone, it's characterized by it's "L" form, by it's tower erected several meters behind its main facade, and by it's own suggested simplicity of the California missions. Abandoned in 1828, it has been restored several times. In the interior is a statue of Santa Rosalia and a bell, both from the XVII century.  It is not always open.

An interesting story of American and Mexican relations occurred on October the 2nd of 1847.  On that date a heroic armed action took place here against the American invaders. The Mexican forces formed by a military group and a numerous group of volunteers, Comundeños and natives and under the command of Capitán Manuel Pineda defeated the American invaders who had demanded that Mulege surrender.

In Mulege you'll find the old state penitentiary, finished in 1907. Novel because it was the only jail without bars. The prisoners could go out to work during the day, they just had to be back at night. Escape attempts were rare, and when someone did, the other prisoners pursued the escapees to bring them back to jail. The Mulegé prison population lived together with all social classes to whom they offered respect.

The original groups that inhabited the area, provide extraordinary samples of rupestrian art, that exist in the surroundings of Mulegé, such as the cave paintings in the Sierra de San Borjita.  Also the paintings and petroglyphs of La Trinidad.

Mulege has been a favorite traditional destination of the driving tourist who look for  a quiet place to enjoy nature; to the sport fishing enthusiast, the lover of tranquil bay; Bahía de Concepción, a few kilometers from Mulegé with grand landscapes and a multitude of beaches with soft, white sand: Santispac, Concepción, Los Cocos, El Burro, El Coyote, Buenaventura, El Requesón and Armenta.

Walk through the town, visit to the mission church; the regional museum (located in the old state penitentiary building); the banks of the river estuary and the beach at El Sombrerito are all recommended.

Mulegé, of course, provides quality services for the visitor. Different hotel classes, R.V. parks, restaurants, bus depot, a national airport (Loreto) and airstrip; sport fishing and scuba diving agencies and tours combining cave paintings and ecology.

To view more photographs of Scammon Lagoon whales click here