Discover how Nayarit's freshwater and coastal ecosystems support wildlife, agriculture, fishing, and local communities.

Today, Nayarit is synonymous with Pacific beaches, luxury resorts, surfing towns, boutique hotels, and unforgettable nature experiences. But the state's reputation as a tourism powerhouse was not created overnight.

How much do you really know about Nayarit?

The state is famous for its Pacific beaches, but there is much more to discover beyond the coastline. Its history, Indigenous cultures, mountains, islands, wildlife, and growing tourism industry make Nayarit one of western Mexico's most diverse destinations.

Few places in Nayarit are as instantly recognizable as the Marietas Islands. Photographs of turquoise water, dramatic cliffs, and the famous Playa del Amor—better known as the Hidden Beach—have made this small archipelago one of Mexico's most photographed natural attractions.

Today, San Blas feels like the kind of Pacific town where visitors come to slow down: fresh seafood, beaches, mangrove boat rides, birdwatching, and sunsets over the coast.

Nayarit is a state where the landscape changes dramatically within a relatively short distance. Travel east from the Pacific coast and the scenery gradually rises from beaches, estuaries, and coastal plains into valleys, volcanic landscapes, and the rugged mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidental.

In the mountains of western Mexico, Nayarit is home to a remarkable cultural landscape where language, art, ceremony, music, and ancestral traditions remain deeply connected to the land.

What does the word Nayarit actually mean?

The answer takes us into the mountains of western Mexico, to the history of the Nayarit people, traditionally known in Spanish as the Cora. The name of the modern Mexican state is closely connected to their history and to the figure of Nayarit, remembered in historical sources as an important Nayarit leader.

To understand Nayarit, follow your appetite.

The state stretches from the rugged Sierra Madre Occidental to hundreds of kilometers of Pacific coastline, and that geography is reflected on the plate. Coastal communities have developed a strong seafood tradition, while inland and Indigenous communities contribute dishes and ingredients rooted in agriculture, local customs, and generations of culinary knowledge.