The diverse topography of the area around Banderas Bay provides a wide variety of land tours to choose from. The dense jungle with its lush vegetation and amazingly vivid tropical flowers, rivers that flow through huge gouged boulders, hidden waterfalls and exotic wildlife, offer visitors a trip into another world. Several movies were filmed in these jungles, and the sets are now restaurants and day parks. High above are the Sierra Madre mountains. Out of town are more arid locales. Visit a large man-made lake that offers ancient petroglyphs, camping, rock climbing and great bass fishing, or visit ranches, archeological sites, sunbaked brick factories, turtle farms. Stay in town and take a walking tour of the city, or take an air-conditioned plush coach ride through town that weaves its way through the streets of cliff-side communities, riverside towns, and luxury beach communities.
Top Ten Puerto Vallarta Landmarks You Wouldn’t Want to Miss: It’s easy to discover Puerto Vallarta’s most important landmarks in a single day.
Discovering Off-Malecon in Vallarta: Every city has its hidden corners, its unseen treasures. While sculpture is featured on the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta, those who know the city suggest that you not stop there. In fact, some of the more interesting corners are off the main drag. This piece focuses on Vallarta’s off -Malecon sculptures, as well as tidbits and stories related to them.
Petroglyphs in the Region: These stone carvings were a means of communication between indigenous communities and their gods, a physical manifestation of the rites performed to ask for more rain and a better harvest.
La Malagua Inaugurates Isla Rio Cuale Exhibit: During the second Festival Cultural Cuale in January 2010, artist collective La Malagua inaugurated their long-awaited project along Isla Rio Cuale.
José Luis González: Every day, José Luis González goes to the beach by the Malecon to work on his sand sculptures, as he has done every year since the winter of 2005, when he first visited Puerto Vallarta during a trip with a friend.
Puerto Vallarta as Canvas: More than two years ago, an art project was undertaken in Puerto Vallarta that uses the city’s vacant public spaces as its canvas and concepts from the controversial graffiti art movement as its tools.
Step City: The fact that a fair amount of Puerto Vallarta’s El Centro is built on a hillside means that those who live there can always enjoy privileged views of our bay.
Gary Thompson’s Weekly Sculpture Tours: Hats off to Galeria Pacifico owner Gary Thompson, who year after year takes time from his busy schedule to introduce Puerto Vallarta tourists to one of our town’s most enduring landmarks: our extensive collection of public sculptures, most of which are located on the Malecon.
Puerto Vallarta Zoo: Even if being kissed on the lips by a full-grown giraffe is not your cup of tea, the Puerto Vallarta Zoo (Zoologico de Vallarta) in Mismaloya offers up-close and personal encounters with a variety of species, large and small, less than 25 minutes from downtown Puerto Vallarta.
Hike from Boca de Tomatlán to Las Ánimas: The small fishing village of Boca de Tomatlán is Puerto Vallarta’s South Shore water taxi departure point, with small motor boats or “pangas” traveling regularly to some of the most secluded beaches in the bay, including Las Animas and Quimixto.
North of the Cuale River: Often overlooked, this tranquil neighborhood bordered by Libertad and Ignacio L. Vallarta streets, along with the Rio Cuale, is home to Vallarta’s two main markets and springs to life during daylight hours.
Beyond the Malecón: This particular stretch along Puerto Vallarta’s main access road just north of our town’s immensely popular promenade is certainly no underdog.
Widened Malecon Sidewalks Welcome Pedestrians: Enjoying the colorful, atmospheric Malecon is now better than ever, thanks to the enlargement of sidewalks on Diaz Ordaz street, including the installation of planters.
Most Happening Town for Evening Events: Bucerias: Kudos to the businesses and associations in Bucerias who, over the past year, have not only held many more special events and activities but also have gotten much better at promoting them.
Strolling Around Gringo Gulch: Climb up any of the step-lined streets that lead to this charming hillside neighborhood and you will quickly understand why Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton chose to have homes built there back in the 1960s.
