Mazunte

The turtles come at night. Olive ridleys crawl up the same beach where, a generation ago, their predecessors were slaughtered by the thousands for their shells. The village that once killed them now protects them — and the hatchlings scrambling toward moonlit surf are the living proof of what happens when a community changes its mind.

Mazunte was a turtle-processing village until the Mexican government banned turtle hunting in 1990, forcing the community to reinvent itself. The transformation has been one of Mexico's most compelling conservation stories: the former slaughterhouse is now the Mexican Centre for Sea Turtle Conservation, releasing olive ridley hatchlings seasonally. The village has attracted an eclectic community of yoga practitioners, surfers, and back-to-basics travellers who appreciate the unpaved roads, the absence of chain hotels, and the commitment to sustainability. Punta Cometa, the southernmost point on the Oaxacan coast, offers sunset views from a cliff sacred to the Zapotecs. The Pacific surf is powerful but the neighbouring San Agustinillo beach provides calmer swimming. Accommodation ranges from beachfront cabañas to clifftop eco-lodges, all small-scale and locally owned.