Arch of Cabo San Lucas

At the very tip of the Baja California peninsula the land runs out in a ragged spine of granite, and at its end the sea has punched a hole straight through the rock. El Arco — also simply called Land's End — stands where the Pacific Ocean meets the Gulf of California, and on a clear day the difference between the two is visible from the water: calm, turquoise water on the gulf side, heavy Pacific swell on the other. The arch itself rises roughly three storeys above the waterline, a squat, massive gateway rather than a delicate span, and the pinnacles around it climb much higher.

The rock is far older than the resort that now photographs it. The granite of this headland crystallised deep underground in the Cretaceous, around 115 million years ago, and was later exposed and cut into fins, needles and caves by waves, wind and tide. The contrast between the two seas on either flank of the ridge is part of what shaped it: one side sheltered, the other constantly pounded, so erosion works unevenly and leaves the harder rock standing as walls and bridges.

Around the arch the headland gathers several of Los Cabos' best-known sights into a few hundred metres. On the sheltered side lies Playa del Amor, Lover's Beach, a small cove of pale sand between the cliffs; over the narrow neck of land, on the Pacific side, is the rougher Divorce Beach, where the surf makes swimming dangerous. Flat rocks near the arch are a haul-out for a colony of California sea lions, and the waters here belong to a marine protected area established in 1973; seasonally, migrating whales pass offshore. The bay's glass-bottom boats circle the rocks so passengers can look down into the clear water as well as up at the stone.

Much of El Arco's fame comes from its setting at the very end of a long peninsula, and it has become the emblem of Cabo San Lucas, repeated on the advertising of every hotel along the Los Cabos corridor. Seen from a boat in the low evening light, with the granite warming in colour against the sea, it earns its reputation.

Getting there

The arch stands about 2.5 km from the centre of Cabo San Lucas, at the mouth of its harbour; Cabo San Lucas International Airport (CSW) is about 9 km away. The formation is reached by boat: water taxis, glass-bottom boats and cruises leave from the Cabo San Lucas marina and from Médano Beach, and many drop passengers at Lover's Beach. Landing directly at the arch is difficult, as the water level around the rocks rises and falls sharply.