About San Ignacio
Located only 142 kilometers south of Guerrero Negro and 73 kilometers from Santa Rosalía, populated in the past by cochimíes who named it Kadacaamán that means creek of the reed-grass, discovered in 1716 by Jesuit Francisco María Piccolo and founded in 1728 by Mexican Jesuit Juan Bautista Luyando.
San Ignacio preserves its traditions and the architecture of its buildings like the San Ignacio de Loyola mission, considered one of the most beautiful ones that still conserves its original state. Close to San Ignacio you find Laguna San Ignacio a fishermen’s village where an underground river forms a serene lake with reed-grass; during the winter ecotourism and educational camps are organized during the gray whale season.
San Ignacio is the entrance to the rock paintings located in San Francisco de la Sierra a real paradise in the middle of the desert; where in a 12 square kilometer radius 300 sites of the most important manifestations of the early inhabitants of the peninsula are located.
Places to visit
San Ignacio de Loyola Mission
Located in front of the main square, its construction began in the XVIII century by the Compañía de Jesús, it wasn’t finished because of the expulsion of the Jesuits and in 1767 Dominico Juan Crisóstomo Gómez continued the construction. Built on blocks of volcanic rock 120 centimeters thick is what has allowed it to currently be in a magnificent shape. Its façade is ornamented with bass relief and niches with sculptures of saints. In the interior its carved wood altar and covered in paper gold is outstanding, with 7 oil paintings and a statue of San Ignacio de Loyola, a religious art jewel of the XVIII century.
Unidad de Información y Manejo de la Zona Arqueológica Sierra San Francisco
Information and Management Unit of the Sierra San Francisco Archeological area.
It basically functions as a museum with a permanent exhibit of a replica of a part of the Cueva Pintada (painted cave) that is the biggest in the area, with fireplaces, corrals and photos that illustrate part of the evangelization work done in the region.
Laguna San Ignacio
Located 55 kilometers from the town, a sanctuary for the gray whale where every year they come to mate and give birth. From February to March, it is visited by thousands of tourists from around the world to witness this spectacle that nature has to offer. There are ecotourism camp organizers who have specialized bilingual boat operators.
You can do numerous activities in San Ignacio like hiking, ATV trips, bird watching, kayaking, surfing and diving.
The Pelícano, San Ignacio, Malcomb, Delgadillo islands and Delgadillo islote that are also located in the Pacific are part of the Laguna San Ignacio complex.
Cueva del Ratón (cave of the rat)
Forty four kilometers north of San Ignacio you turn right into a dirt road and 37 kilometers later you will find the Sierra de San Francisco and that is where the cave is located: in its interior there is enough light to see the cave paintings which have been dated between 4 and 5 thousand years old. In the paintings you can observe faceless men with headsets and it is believed they represented shamans or warlocks; the animals that you see represented are deer, sheep and hares which appear with spears, darts or arrows through them and that has been interpreted as hunting or almost magic combat scenes.
Due to the importance of this site, it is subject of research and in 1994 forms part of a conservation project developed by INAH (National Institute of Anthropology and History), The Getty Conservation Institute of LA and the Baja California Sur State government.
