Thanks to Instagram, I bet you’ve seen a tonne of pink lake images cropping up all over your feed recently.
You can find them all over the world, the most notable being in Western Australia and Mexico. Given that I was within a three hour drive of the Pink Lake in Mexico, It would have been rude not to jump on the band wagon, get my shot for the gram and give you all the low down on this ‘must do’ experience..
Firstly, We drove 2.5 hours from Chiquila to Rio Lagartos which is the closest town to Las Colorados. You can also drive there in around 3 hours from Cancun or visit the lake as part of a long day trip. I definitely would NOT do it as a day trip, I would be super disappointed to spend that long driving in one day for this sight, but if you have more time, like an adventure and really want to see some more of Mexico… Add it to your list for one night.
Make sure you keep your eyes on the roads, they are riddled with potholes and despite the good vibes I put out there as I plowed through one, I did manage to pop a tyre and had to hail down a Mexican passerby to help change the tyre. I can not count the amount of times my Dad has shown me how to change a tyre and I never fully listened, That moment did not get lost on me and I now know how to change one… You know I’m an in the moment kind of girl, all or nothing is where I live. (Sorry Dad, love you)!
We stayed at Hotel Tabasco Rio which was clean, comfortable, central and good value. There isn’t a huge array of choice in this tiny town but this place did the job for one night. Food on the other hand was a complete ‘adventure’… We tried to get to every restaurant in town before we finally found that there was only one open. The town also frequently runs out of power (equally as important, wifi) and I had zero phone reception… Just in case you thrive on connection. In my case it was a nice, impromptu online detox.
Las Colorados is a twenty minute drive out of Rio Lagartos, It is part of the Biosphere Reserve that covers 60,000+ hectares of wetland that are home to a host of wildlife including flamingoes, turtles and endangered species such as the muscovy duck, wood stork and peregrine falcon.
The million dollar question is… Is the Pink Lake really that pink?
From my perspective, that would be a firm NO, I really turned up the saturation on my photo edits here but I have heard that if the conditions are right, it really can show off that candy pink hue that most people only achieve by filtering their photos.
The pink is created by red algae that inhibits the lake and as the salty water evaporates under strong sunlight it glistens like a pink diamond under the Mexican sun (Or so I’ve heard).
I wouldn’t rush to go back here anytime soon (You can judge it yourself), but I am still keeping Australia’s Pink Lake in Esperance on my bucket list so I can compare the two.
I would love to hear if you’ve been or plan on going here, Drop me a line in the comments below.
D x
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