Mazatlan: El Faro
El Faro (Spanish for the lighthouse) is the lighthouse at the top of the tallest hill in Mazatlan, Cerro Creston. It is the second highest lighthouse in the world.
Currently the only way to reach the summit of Cerro Creston is on foot. This requires climbing 325 steps and over 500 feet of elevation change. There is a plan to install a cable car in the near future which will allow more people to enjoy the incredible views from the top.
Once you get off of the ship they have tourist information booth with maps of the area. A map wasn’t required to find El Faro. It is high enough to see from the port.
They provide free transportation from the ship to the shopping area at the port.
They have stores and restrooms inside the shopping area.
They also have a restaurant outside of the shopping area.
Once you get through the restaurant you come to the gates which is where the taxis hang out. I decided to walk. It’s about a mile and the weather is nice. A cab would’ve been $6.
I passed a couple of schools. They looked like prisons. Walls, bars, guard shacks, barbed wire, c-wire.
We’re on the home stretch.
This is the entrance. In this building they have a small gift shop. If you need them you can get pesos in there. The bathroom costs 10 pesos (about 50 cents) and the glass bridge at the top also costs 10 pesos.
This is the bathroom.
The first few parts of the walk are ramps up. I took some pictures Of the walk as well as the view along the way.
I’ll take my next set of pictures from behind that cactus.
They do have a few places on the way up where you can pose for pictures or take a break.
At this point my health app says I’ve gone up 10 floors. It seems a little higher than that to me.
Now we get to the steps. I have 325 steps coming.
This is the last break spot before the top. It’s a good picture spot as well.
A look up at the final steps.
And we have reached the top.
According to my health app it was a 1 mile walk up and 28 floors.
They have benches by the lighthouse.
They have drinks available for purchase.
On the other side of the lighthouse is the glass bridge. It costs 10 pesos. They would only let a certain number of people go at at time and they were taking forever so I didn’t go.
The walk down was much easier than the walk up. I was feeling pretty good so I walked back to the port.
I enjoyed my walk up to El Faro. The views are incredible. It didn’t cost me anything. The most it would cost you is $12 round trip for cab fare and 50 cents per person for the glass bridge. I highly recommend it if you are able to make the hike. Once the cable car is installed everyone will be able to enjoy it.
