VISIT THE MOST IMPORTANT AQUARIUM IN LATIN AMERICA

The “Gran Acuario Mazatlán Mar de Cortés” is one of the places you can’t miss during your visit to Mazatlán. It’s one of the greatest attractions in the country and the most important in Latin America.

If you are a sea lover, a visit to the Gran Acuario Mazatlán Mar de Cortez is a must.

Located in the city’s Central Park, next to the old aquarium and meters away from Mazatlán’s malecon, this amazing place inspired by the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez, and by many called the “world’s aquarium”!

Don’t leave Mazatlán without stopping by the aquarium, it is quite an experience, starting with its architectural structure to the design of the habitats, built by Tatiana Bilbao, a Mexican architect, who aimed to re-create atmospheres that invite you to a unique undersea encounter.

As you begin the tour it feels like you’ve stumbled into a building in ruins of a lost city abandoned under the sea for thousands of years and over time emerged into the surface of Bay Mazatlán, leaving hundreds of species living inside, making it their home, and now a treasure on land where humans can explore, learn and interact.

 

As you enter to explore the exhibitions and embark on your journey through the most important aquarium in Latin America, you encounter a staircase between two enormous walls, one filled with plants and the other one with a veil of water that gives you the impression as if the building is emerging from the sea. Visitors can’t help but touch the wall as they continue up the stairs.

 

Feel, interact, and learn in the Intertidal Zone!

One of the most interesting interactive areas that should not be missed is the Intertidal Zone, where you’ll find starfish, sea cucumbers, crabs, hermit crustaceans, sea urchins, and other species. You’ll feel like an excited child once again! You’ll be able to touch the species delicately to not hurt them, and with the specifications of the experts who are there to answer all your questions.

Mangrove and sea turtles: a space for survival.

After spending a while interacting and learning about some species, moving on to the Mangrove Area, you’ll find in the middle of the exhibition a cylindrical habitat dedicated to the mangroves, where you can find different species of fish and the biodiversity of this incredible ecosystem.

However, what captures your attention is the Sea Turtle Refuge and Rehabilitation Area, one of our favorite aquarium sections. Watching the turtles come and go so close makes you wonder whether we are observing them or they are observing us.

You can see some of the turtles are missing a flipper or are being sheltered or rehabilitated and might not be able to go back to their natural habitat, but the “Gran Acuario Mazatlán Mar de Cortés” will provide them with the ideal space for their survival.

Feeding the rays!

Passing to the next exhibit you will see a large pond with stingray species such as the Cortez round stingray, guitar ray, and the spotted round stingray. To feed the rays, you’ll have to buy small fish cubes, and place them in the middle of your knuckles make a fist shape, and submerge it as far as you can to stop the rays from jumping.

Don’t be afraid they’re harmless and won’t bite you, you’ll feel a slight suction. Besides, you will be accompanied by the guides at all times. An experience you have to live during your visit to the “Gran Acuario Mazatlán”.

Unther “The Wave”

Another major attraction is “The Wave”, where water flows rhythmically in a transparent ceiling in intervals as the ocean waves, giving you the illusion of being beneath the wave when it breaks.

The entire building is a masterpiece with many settings to take pictures, although “The Wave” is one of our favorite spots.

360° of the “Coral City”

An iconic landmark exhibition, where we can appreciate 360° views of the coral ecosystem and learn about their importance to our oceans since they provide safety, shelter, breeding sites, nutrients, and food for the species that habitat them.

As you walk around this magnificent scenery, an imposing 13-meter-long by 7-meter-high screen immediately mesmerizes you, giving you the sensation that it is a movie screen. Divers are often spotted in the background keeping the area clean and even when you’re taking a selfie you may see a diver behind you posing for your picture.

Behold the beauty of the underwater world!

Following your tour you will walk under a transparent tunnel overlooking the great Oceanic Window, where you can take a break before continuing with the tour or contemplate a small part of the magnificence of what is found in the depths of the Sea of Cortez.

This interactive room that looks like you’re at the bottom of the sea operating a submarine is one of the other fun and favorite exhibits, inviting you to play with your imagination and operate a submarine at the deepest part of the ocean. Screens will show how the ecosystem changes as you go deeper into the depths.

There is an exclusive exhibition for jellyfish, where you will find sphere-shaped fish habitats with bullet jellyfish, a native species of the Sea of Cortez, and one of our favorite places for photos.

What about the little ones?

The aquarium also has an interactive and recreational area for kids, with a screen overlooking the “Oceanic Window”, and an interactive whiteboard with photos of some of the species that live in the Sea of Cortez, children can enjoy this experience and learn to love the ocean through different recreational activities specially designed for them.

Still, a lot to discover.

Although when you leave the building your experience in the underwater world comes to an end and you go back to the surface, the adventure has not ended yet! Therefore, by heading down a spiral staircase and continuing to the Land Area, passing over a wooden bridge overlooking the Central Park of the City and its lagoon. In this location, you will find snacks like food, and drinks and rest a little before continuing through your last stops.

We finally arrived at the last habitat: Land!

Finally, the last habitat to visit is Land, where there is a crocodile pit and the “Casa Guacamaya” where you can see the guacamayas, red-headed parrots, peacocks, ducks, among other beautiful species of birds. Likewise, there are also birds that are being safeguarded or under rehabilitation.