Playa Las Cuevas

Playa Las Cuevas is a small, wild beach on the Riviera Nayarit coast in the municipality of Compostela, Nayarit, about 2.5 km south of the fishing village of Chacala and some 36 km west of the town of Compostela. It sits at the foot of Cerro de las Cuevas, one of the small volcanic hills of this stretch of coast, and it is counted, together with Chacalilla and La Caleta, among the beaches of the Chacala area.

Unlike the sheltered, swimmable bay at Chacala, Las Cuevas faces the open Pacific and is known for its strong surf; guides to the area single it out, along with La Caleta, as a beach of powerful waves for surfers rather than for a family swim. Local press describes it as almost untouched, simply because so few people come. There is no village here: INEGI lists Playa las Cuevas as a locality with just 2 residents in the 2020 census (4 in 2005, and none in 2010), and the nearest settlement is the hamlet of El Divisadero, on the hill road inland, which has a community primary school, preschool and secondary school.

There are no restaurants, rentals or lifeguards at Las Cuevas. Everything you might need, from fish tacos and seafood to small hotels and guesthouses, is in Chacala, 2.5 km up the coast, and Las Varas, the market town on Highway 200, is a few kilometers further inland. The climate is warm all year, with an average temperature of about 24 °C and the rain concentrated in the summer months; in Chacala the most popular months are November to May.