Surprising Chacala, Mexico
Charming Chacala
You may not have heard of it yet, but the quaint beach town of Chacala is starting to catch on as an enjoyable vacation spot in the Riviera Nayarit on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Just a 45-minute drive north of Sayulita, Chacala is growing in popularity. This is largely due to the construction of a paved road in 1998, which made the town much easier to find.
Before the road was built, Chacala was just a sleepy fishing village, where fishing and selling fish were the locals’ only livelihood. The town was especially known for the large shrimp caught to the north of town in Chacalilla Bay, although it has been suggested these were actually lobsters which were once abundant here. In fact, the word ‘Chacala’ derives from the Náhuatl (pronounced “now what”) language, meaning “place of the shrimp” or “large shrimp.”
After the road was built, it attracted the growth of new tourism businesses, increasing work opportunities for its residents. Now the town includes a few hotels, shops, restaurants and popular beach activities, such as sport fishing, snorkeling in Las Cuevas cove’s underwater volcanic caves, expert surfing on Caleta Bay, turtle watching year round, and Humpback whale watching between December and March.
Cultural Attractions
View of Chacala Beach
With 52 indigenous languages, Mexican culture is equally diverse. Náhuatl, the language of a dominant ethnic group, the Nahuan, includes the Aztecs, Toltecs, and other indigenous cultures. The nearby town of Altavista was inhabited by the Tecoxquin (Tequectequi) group, which includes the Cora and Huichol indians who still inhabit Nayarit. Containing 800 petroglyphs (rock engravings) dating back to 2300 BCE, this small archaeological site is still considered sacred by the Huicholes.
An interesting cultural and language twist is on the terms Chac Mool, Chac, and Chacala. The words sound similar but are not even related. Chac Mool (meaning “thundering paw”) is a statue of Toltec origin, a Mesoamerican civilization who invaded the Maya, and the statue only received its Mayan name from the archaeologist who excavated it. Chac (also Chaak or Chaahk) is the Mayan god of thunder, lightening, and rain. Interestingly, the Maya were an empire in southern Mexico and Central America far from Nayarit.
Appropriately, Chacala is a native Náhuatl word of Aztec origin and is befitting of the delightful fishing village that carries its name.
