The Best Places for Adventure Sports in Mexico

Mexico offers extraordinary places to chase thrills, from mountaineering in high hills to surfing giant waves and rafting rivers with turbulent waters. These are some of the best sites for adventure sports lovers.

This beautiful place, located in the state of Veracruz, in addition to having vast vegetation, has exciting rivers for all kinds of athletes, from children to experts in rafting.

The descent down the river La Antigua offers stretches with various difficulties in turbulent waters enjoyed throughout the year. Climbing, abseiling, zip-lining, and mountain biking are also popular in the Jalcomulco area. Several tour operators offer experiences, including river descent, water trekking, and zip-line, at affordable prices.

This Magic Town is a challenge for mountaineering lovers because of the high vertical walls of the largest monolith in Mexico that this National Park houses. It has a height of 944 feet that only expert climbers can try, accompanied by expert guides. The ascent is difficult, although there is an access road through most of the mountain. Once at the summit, climbers can enjoy a beautiful view of the semi-desert area and the Sierra Gorda of Queretaro.

Some tour operators offer rappel drops between 200 and 250 feet. Climbing tours include canyon walks, waterfalls, vertical walls, swimming in pools, and tours of vast flora and fauna. There are also mountain bike tours of the Sierra Gorda and Huimilpan trails, an area of lush forests.

Located 18 miles from the U.S. border, this fabulous beach is a wave lover's paradise. Surfers from all over the world visit this beautiful site of the Mexican Pacific to enjoy its great size and speed and sometimes face each other in tournaments organized throughout the year.

Newcomers to the sport can enroll in local schools to learn how to conquer these waves. Beginner surfers can also practice this sport at the Cantamar and Season's beaches. In Muelle de Rosarito, Marina Puerto Salina, Km 55, Raul's Caf, and La Fonda, there are waves for all levels of surfers, and for the most advanced there are also Baja Malibu, Km 38, Popotla, Las Gaviotas, Calafia, among other sandy and rocky beaches.

Nearby is Ensenada, an area also trendy for international surfers, especially from the U.S. Athletes enjoy excellent waves on San Miguel beach and in Isla Todos Santos, one of the best in Mexico. Another site of spectacular waves is Scorpio Bay, in Baja California Sur, which offers world-class point breaks in an incredible natural environment that combines the sea with the desert.

This beautiful Magic Village, located two hours from Mexico City, is in a lagoon surrounded by a lush wooded area full of waterfalls and trails where visitors can enjoy mountain biking and jet surfing on the beautiful lake.

Water sports enthusiasts can also practice stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, sailing or boating. In addition, there are many places to enjoy hiking and mountain bike tours, such as the Piedra Herrada Sanctuary, Velo de Novia Waterfall, and the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, among others.

Travelers can also partake in horseback riding, paragliding, quad biking, dragon boat rides, climbing, flying in ultra-light airplanes, and even go-karts.