Town 16 km southwest of El Rosario
Sinaloa's oldest settlement, on the Baluarte River: colorful adobe houses, a big pre-Hispanic site, and a quiet beach nearby.
Chametla, on the lower Baluarte River south-west of El Rosario, is often called the oldest town in Sinaloa. Long before the Spanish arrived it was a sizable settlement: archaeologists have mapped more than 100 hectares of mounds here, including platform bases for temples and a ball court, with occupation dating back to at least AD 350–450. The Totorame people who lived here are also remembered in El Rosario's museum.
In 1531 the conquistador Nuño de Guzmán took the town and named it Villa de Chametlán, which is why Chametla calls itself the cradle of mestizaje in the north-west. Today it is a small village where many houses are still built of fired adobe with pitched tile roofs. A state program, Coloreando Sinaloa, has painted their facades in bright colors, and the village has become a pleasant stop for a walk and a meal.
A short drive away is Playa El Majahual, often just called the beach of Chametla: a quiet, family stretch of sand with shade huts and little development.
What to see and do
Walk the streets of painted adobe houses with tiled roofs.
Learn about the pre-Hispanic Totorame settlement, one of the largest in southern Sinaloa.
Spend an afternoon at Playa El Majahual, the quiet beach of Chametla.
Continue to nearby Agua Verde and the mouth of the Baluarte River.
Getting there
Chametla is about 15 kilometers south-west of El Rosario as the crow flies, roughly half an hour by car on local roads through the farmland of the Baluarte valley. The archaeological zone is an area of ongoing research rather than a visitor site with facilities, so treat the town itself as the destination.
16 km southwest of El Rosario
Directions from El Rosario on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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Places to stay in Chametla
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Weather warm
Chametla shares the climate of El Rosario, 16 km away. The best months to visit are Jan, Mar, Nov, Dec.
Make El Rosario your base
Chametla is an easy trip from El Rosario, a Pueblo Mágico with places to stay, food, and more to see.
More around El Rosario
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Cacalotán
· Town · 9 km away
A former mezcal hacienda town at the foot of the sierra north of El Rosario, with 19th-century rural architecture and old grinding wheels. -
Agua Verde
· Town · 16 km away
A fishing village by the mouth of the Baluarte River, with estuaries, mangroves, and lots of waterbirds; on the way to El Caimanero. -
Laguna del Caimanero
· Lake · 21 km away
A huge coastal lagoon full of shorebirds; in the dry hot season its marshes crystallize into a white plain of natural salt. -
Playa El Caimanero
· Beach · 25 km away
A long, open Pacific beach beside the Caimanero lagoon, where families gather on weekends and dolphins are often seen. -
Teacapán
· Town · 52 km away
A fishing village at Sinaloa's southern tip, on a mangrove estuary with quiet beaches; about an hour south via Escuinapa.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.