The Malecón
The waterfront walkway of Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico

Centro Historico | Plaza Machado | Angela Peralta Theater | Museo de Arte

Museo Arqueologico | Pedro Infante Museum | Pino Suarez Mercado Centro

Central Mazatlan Cathedral / Basilica | Malecon | Mazatlan Cliff Divers

Carpa Olivera Pool | Acuario Mazatlan Aquarium | El Faro Lighthouse

Bosque de la Ciudad | Estero del Yugo Nature Preserve



The Mazatlan Malecon is 13 miles long, running north from Olas Altas Beach (the southern edge of the Centro Historico), and is one of the longest seafront walkways in the world.

The Mazatlan Malecon assures that access to our beaches and the serenity of unobstructed views of the ocean will be preserved for generations to come.

It is a wonder of intelligent public planning and is a wonderful place for Pearl of The Pacific sightseeing: especially people-watching! The Malecon offers great views of remnants of the city's history including parts of the old ice works on the side of Icebox Hill and the ever-popular Devil's Cave -- Cueva del Diablo -- that conjures up ghosts of Mazatlan's pirate past.

Video of the New Malecon



The Mazatlan Malecon is arguably one of the best Mazatlan sightseeing location if you're into people watching! It's kept clean, and presents a shifting kaleidescope of pedestrians strolling the sea front, bicyclists, roller bladers, and vendors of of every type -- including vendors of outstanding street food!

The Mazatlan Malecon is the stage for some of the city's most important events and special celebrations, but every day the Mazatlan Malecon offers wonderful sunsets, spectacular beaches, and incomparable ocean views.

Tourists, visitors, and Mazatlecos come to the Malecon early in the morning to exercise or simply to enjoy another tropical dawn.

Of course there are other reasons to visit the Malecon -- eating, drinking and shopping being among the top three -- and along the Malecon you will find restaurants, bars, clubs, shops and hotels.

Uncrowded except on holidays -- and even then only in certain locations -- the Mazatlan Malecon is the perfect place to experience the sound of surf, smell of salt air, and the gentle caress of warm tropical breezes. No visit to The Pearl of The Pacific is complete without a leisurly stoll on the Malecon or, better yet, several!



Did I hear you say you wanted to party?

And then, of course, there is Carnaval. Carnaval was inaugurated here in 1898, and those lucky enough to visit during the week before Lent are treated to the modern Mazatlan Carnaval, the third largest Carnaval celebration in the world.

One of the most enduring of Mazatlan tourist attractions, the modern Mazatlan Carnaval, centered on the Malecon, continues the 120 year tradition of attracting hundreds of thousands of people from all around the world.

This multi-day Mardi Gras celebration features live music, delicious food, spectacular fireworks and great entertainment set on the picturesque Mazatlan Malecon oceanfront.

Carnaval in Mazatlan is without a doubt one of the most vibrant celebrations in Mexico, and its fantastic transformation of the Malecon is a thing to behold, and the foundation of memories that you will hold dear for the rest of your life.

Time-lapse video of Mazatlan Carnaval 2012!



How do you know when Carnaval is coming? Monigotes on the Malecon!

A few weeks before Carnival, strange beings begin appearing on the Malecon. They are the Mazatlan Carnival Monigotes, some of the most fun public sculpture anywhere in the world!





The Birth of Carnaval in Mazatlan LEARN MORE

The very end of the 1800s -- 1898 to be exact -- marks when Mazatlan officially embraced the Mardi Gras tradition of Carnival, and there has been no turning back from this massive annual public party!

Though Carnaval was noted in Mazatlan as early as 1848 -- it was mentioned in the Mazatlan newspaper La Lechuza -- it wasn't until 50 years later than the event took its present form as a seven-day multi-event blow-out complete with parades, floats, social events and an official King and Queen.

History notes that the early Mazatlan Carnivals -- pre 1898 -- were informal and often somewhat vulgar, with women throwing flour and hollow eggshells (cascarones) filled with glitter, and men responding by tossing ashes and dyes at the women. But in 1898 civic leaders headed by Dr. Martiniano Carvajal and a committee with an international flavor -- it supposedly included an Irishman, a German, a Spaniard and an Italian -- organized a parade made up of carriages and bicycles "to eradicate the immoral flour and replace it with the pure and more restrained confetti."

The modern Mazatlan Carnival may not involve tossing flour, but it is hardly restrained. Mardi Gras in Mazatlan is one of the biggest and best bashes anywhere in the Americas that sees thousands of costumed revellers thronging the Malecon and beaches.

Each evening the Malecon at Olas Altas Beach becomes the perfect stage for this singing and dancing Bacchanalia, with outdoor concerts, sound and light shows and beer for everyone! LEARN MORE

Video of the Combate Naval carnival fireworks by mazatlantoday.net



Centro Historico | Plaza Machado | Angela Peralta Theater | Museo de Arte

Museo Arqueologico | Pedro Infante Museum | Pino Suarez Mercado Centro

Central Mazatlan Cathedral / Basilica | Malecon | Mazatlan Cliff Divers

Carpa Olivera Pool | Acuario Mazatlan Aquarium | El Faro Lighthouse

Bosque de la Ciudad | Estero del Yugo Nature Preserve