Ipala: Beach and Coastal Area

Ipala is a rural settlement within the terrestrial zone of influence of Santuario Playa Mismaloya. This classification follows the locality divisions used in December 2023. When understanding the coastal area, it is helpful to distinguish between the settlement and the larger zone of influence: Ipala is assigned to the terrestrial part, while the overall zone also includes a marine area. The named subzones describe coastal stretches with different characteristics—from a beach in front of Ipala to a longer stretch associated with Playa Chapis.

Ipala in the Protected Area

The 2025 management summary gives the zone of influence an area of 111,844.785012 ha. This total area includes a terrestrial and a marine polygon; Ipala is listed among the localities in the terrestrial part. The area figure therefore describes the larger planning area, not the settlement’s area. The locality classification and the area figure answer different questions: one locates Ipala within the zone of influence, while the other gives its total size.

Beaches with Different Characteristics

In front of Ipala is the Villa del Mar 1 subzone, a predominantly sandy beach that is 60 to 100 m wide. A sandbar connects the Estero La Boquita with the sea there. Villa del Mar 1 is thus characterized both by its width and by this connection between the estuary and the open coast.

The Villa del Mar 2 subzone lies north of Santuario Playa Mismaloya and is described as a predominantly sandy beach about 4.8 km long. It extends to the access point to the place known as Playa Chapis. At the southern end of this subzone, a footpath provides access to Playa Chapis on a slope where a stream channel carries water intermittently. If you plan to use this access, check conditions on site, as physical conditions may change.

Open Coast and Seasonal Surfing

A tourist description refers to Ipala Beach as a roughly 5 km stretch on the open sea and mentions surfing with appropriate caution. Surf conditions are seasonal. If you are considering Ipala for surfing, take its seasonal nature and the need for caution into account.

At about 5 km and about 4.8 km, the lengths of Ipala Beach and Villa del Mar 2 are similar in scale; however, the figures refer to differently named coastal stretches. Villa del Mar 1, by contrast, is described in terms of its width of 60 to 100 m. Width and length are different measurements: 60 to 100 m does not describe how far the beach extends along the coast.

Natural Environment of Santuario Playa Mismaloya

Santuario Playa Mismaloya has nesting and egg-laying sites for the olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), and the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). This information refers to the Santuario as a whole and adds a nature-related topic for the larger protected area to the beach descriptions.

Discover more destinations: Tepatitlán De Morelos, San Isidro Mazatepec, La Barca, Talpa De Allende, Municipio Zapotlanejo, Etzatlán, La Laja, Concepción De Buenos Aires

For the main travel overview: Jalisco.