Rio Lagartos and Las Coloradas, Mexico- an Crocodile River and a Pink Lake?

We visit Cancun, Mexico, annually and are pretty adventurous, and we love the idea of exploring a different area every year. When I came across pictures of a beautiful pink lake four hours from Cancun, I knew I had to visit Rio Lagartos and Las Coloradas. What I found was better than I expected, but not exactly what I read about on the internet. Join along on my adventure and see what I found in Rio Lagartos, Mexico.

How to get to Rio Lagartos from Cancun, Mexico

It is possible to take a day trip to Rio Lagartos from Cancun, although it will be a long day.

• You can catch a bus from Cancun or Merida. Check out the schedules.
• You can arrange an organized tour from Cancun that includes a boat tour of Rio Lagartos and a visit to Los Colorados.
• Rent a car and drive yourself. If you take the tollways, the drive is pretty straightforward. The only problem you may encounter is that this is far from touristy Mexico, so fewer people speak English. When we visited, a search was going on for El Chapo’s kidnapped son and having a fluent Spanish speaker made it quicker to get through the Federales checkpoints.
• Secure a driver who can take you from Cancun to Rio Lagartos. This is my preferred method of sightseeing when I travel, and I like that we can move at our own pace, stopping wherever and whenever we want. I also learn much more about an area’s politics, culture, and lifestyle by getting to know one of its locals. We are fortunate to have had the same driver, Daniel, for the last twenty years, and he was our driver on our ill-fated trip to Belize, which might not have ended so well without him there.

The Town of Rio Lagartos, Yucatan, Mexico

Rio Lagartos is the name of the quaint, typical Yucatan fishing village on the coast of Ria Lagartos. There is not much more to the town than humble housing for its residents, and a few hotels and restaurants for the tourists. There are also docks for fishing and octopus-catching boats, which also give tours.

Ria Lagartos, The Natural Reserve

What is Ria Lagartos?

Ria Lagartos is a UNESCO world heritage site for its important birds. In 1517 when Francisco Hernandez discovered the river, he named it “Lake of Many Dragons, or alligators.” This is the first misconception about what we would find here. Although we did see reptiles, the particular dragons in question are crocodilos, or crocodiles.

To see this river’s beauty and to see many of its birds, particularly the numerous flamingos, you need to go by boat. If you do not go into town with an organized tour, you can find a fisherman waiting to offer you a tour at the docks.

They will only accept cash, and the town does not have an ATM. The cost is usually around $100-$150 for a two-hour tour of up to six people.

We were fortunate, and Daniel’s nephew, Manuel Abraham Silva, was available to give us the tour. Manuel typically works as an octopus fisherman but is happy to do a more lucrative tour. If you are interested in hiring him for a tour, his phone number is 52-998-219-2430. The best way to get a hold of him is to DM him on Facebook.

Manuel’s boat was spotless, with a covered area to protect all seven people on board from the sun. He also had an ice chest where we could store our drinks and snacks. We first spent half an hour exploring the mangroves on the way to view the flamingo lagoon. We spied many beautiful birds, such as herons, egrets, ibis, and kingfishers. There are over 395 different bird species here.

Flamingos in Ria Lagartos

Did you know there are flamingoes around Cancun? This lagoon has the highest concentration of birds in Mexico. The flamingos congregate on a shallow lagoon, and the boats can’t get too close. Therefore, bringing binoculars would be a great idea. Humans staying away is good for the birds to avoid disturbing their habitat. There are always flamingos here. I was impressed with the number we saw in August; however, there are thousands in the spring. It must be magical at sunset to see so many in one place!

La Playa de Las Coloradas

After our flamingo viewing, we crossed the river to view the pink lakes of Las Coloradas. What we found was more accurate to the name, Las Coloradas, which means The Colors, not the pinks. We found reddish-brown lakes among a backdrop of stark white mountains protected by a guard on an ATV.

My research had promised a naturally pink lake due to microscopic algae in the water. According to our guide, this is far from the truth. Las Coloradas is a salt mine. Through a series of dams, water is contained in pools and is treated with chemicals. This causes the salt to precipitate out so that it can be mined and later made into the big white mountains, then sold. When you visit, the water may be pink, red, or brown, depending on how much water has evaporated. Although it was not as strikingly pink as I expected, it was still a unique and beautiful sight I was happy to have seen. And when I started researching my trip to Las Coloradas, I didn’t realize I would get to see flamingos. So I still got my fair share of seeing pink!

You can also access Las Coloradas pools and its town by car. There is a chance that the water’s color from that side, where there is a bigger pool, is due to the microbes, but it is also adjacent to the salt mine, so I am suspect. We visited the lakes in the afternoon, and I have also heard that the color changes throughout the day as the sun warms the water.

Baño Maya or Clay Baths in Ria Lagartos

The sulfuric clay that lays along the beaches of Ria Lagartos is said to have curative properties. Most tours end with a good old mud slathering on tourists’ bodies. Many of the tours put it on at the Playa Las Coloradas. Manuel took us away from the masses to a more private beach where he painstakingly looked for the perfect clay that didn’t stink near as much.

You will then take the boat ride back toward town, looking like the strange ghosts you saw going past you on your way in.

When in St. Lucia, we did a different kind of mud bath– straight from a volcano. Read about Lipstick and Luggage’s experience on St. Lucia.

A Bath at the Beach

Manuel then took us to a fabulous shallow beach accessible only by boat. There we washed off our clay. We spent a while frolicking in the perfect water. As a note of caution, we all ended up with a sunburn. I think this was because the clay exfoliated us. We then spent so much time in the shallow water. We reapplied sunscreen when we got out, but we were burnt already.

Under a palapa, he fed us lunch of an incredible ceviche that he made yesterday’s catch of octopus. This whole experience was a highlight of the day. The beach was a great escape from the hordes of tourists we had been with around Cancun.

A Road Trip from Cancun to Ria Lagartos

The ride to Rio Lagartos through Mexico was enjoyable, as well. It goes through many Mayan villages where you can stop, meet natives, and try some food. Even though their houses look primitive, these people’s happiness and open smiles are a good reminder of what is truly important in life.

If you are a nature lover or want to see a more remote but equally as beautiful part of Mexico outside of Cancun, a visit to Rio Lagartos and Las Coloradas is a must-add to your Mayan Riviera itinerary. Another of my favorite things in this area are cenotes.

To see more Mexican wildlife, consider swimming with sea turtles in Tulum.

This trip was a great reminder that sometimes the best adventures are those that don’t go the way you plan.

Have you been to Rio Largartos or a place where you put clay on yourself?

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