Sayulita Cemetery - Color on the Hillside

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

The path to the next beach runs straight through the town cemetery, a small hillside of graves under big shade trees, just above the sea. Many tombs are painted in bright blues, pinks and yellows, some with small shrines, photos and plastic flowers. It is an active cemetery where local families still bury and visit their dead, so walk quietly, stay on the path and do not step on or lean against the graves.

This place comes alive for Dia de Muertos, the Day of the Dead, at the start of November. Families repaint and clean the tombs, cover them in orange marigolds and candles, and some spend the whole day here sharing food and music with relatives they have lost. In recent years the town has held a candlelit procession from the plaza to the cemetery.

If you want a photo, keep it wide and respectful, and never photograph mourners.

Getting here: Continue southwest to the far end of the beach, then follow the dirt road that climbs past the last houses to the cemetery entrance and the path through the graves.

Did you know?: Local organizers say the Day of the Dead altars around the plaza started with 13 altars and grew into one of the largest community offerings on Banderas Bay.

Photo op: From the path near the top, frame the painted tombs with the trees overhead and a glimpse of blue ocean beyond.

More on Wikipedia: Day of the Dead · Ofrenda · Tagetes erecta

Sayulita Cemetery - Color on the Hillside

Stops on this tour