Sayulita Plaza - Heart of the Village

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A stop on Sayulita: Surf Town Walk, a free self-guided tour.

You are standing in the small square that everything in Sayulita circles back to. The white church of Our Lady of Guadalupe faces it, the streets around it fill with cafes and stalls, and in the evening it becomes the town's living room, with families on the benches and kids chasing each other across the paving.

A century ago there was no surf scene here at all. Workers came to a coconut ranch that pressed oil from the palms, and when that faded, fishing and farming took over. Surfers began arriving in the 1960s, and by the 1990s tourism had become the town's main living.

Look for Wixarika (Huichol) artisans who often sit near the plaza working on beadwork. Their homeland is the Sierra Madre mountains inland, and the fine work done by hand with needles and tiny glass beads is worth watching up close. Take a slow lap of the square before you set off east toward the arroyo.

Getting here: This is where the tour begins. Find the plaza beside the church in the center of town, a block in from the beach.

Did you know?: The town takes its name from Sayula, Jalisco, the hometown of a hacienda manager who named it - Sayulita means little Sayula.

Photo op: Stand on the far side of the square from the church to frame its white facade behind the trees and benches.

More on Wikipedia: Sayulita · Huichol · Riviera Nayarit

Sayulita Plaza - Heart of the Village

Stops on this tour