Playa Boca de Chila

Boca de Chila is the stretch of coast where the Chila river meets the Pacific, on the northern coast of the Riviera Nayarit in the municipality of Compostela. It lies west of the farming town of Zacualpan and north of Chacala and Las Varas, far from the resorts of Banderas Bay. The state tourism board describes a beach of white sand about 7.5 km long, washed by warm, deep blue waves and known for its sunsets, with mangrove swamps behind it that hold many kinds of herons and other water birds.

The drive in is part of the trip: the road crosses fields of watermelon and mango, and in season tobacco leaves hang to dry on metal frames. Ancient petroglyphs have been found near Boca de Chila, and many of them are now displayed in Zacualpan, about 8 km away. The tourism board has for years promoted plans for a resort here with hotels, golf and a spa, but the beach is still largely undeveloped.

The beach between Boca de Ixtapa and Boca de Chila, about 8 km of nearly untouched sand, is watched by the Boca de Chila sea-turtle camp, run from Zacualpan, which protects two areas at the main beach entrances and by a 2017 count releases about 70,000 hatchlings a season, mainly olive ridley and hawksbill turtles as at the other camps on this coast. The nesting and hatching season runs roughly from June to February. Boca de Chila is also known among anglers: the Tepic Surf Fishing Club holds an annual family surf-fishing tournament on the beach; its ninth edition was in April 2016.