El Rosario (Sinaloa)

El Rosario (Sinaloa) is a coastal town on the Sea of Cortez in southern Sinaloa, Mexico. The town's main church is famous for having a beautifully ostentatious gold altar that stuns visitors, even in a country where astounding churches are common. Once famous as the home town of ranchera singer, Lola Beltran, the town is now known for its quality marijuana. It's a charming small town with a colonial vibe. It is one of Mexico's designated Pueblos Mágicos and is a popular day trip for visitors staying at the beach resorts of Mazatlan.

Understand
El Rosario is a small town with about 16,000 residents (2010). It is a historic mining community, founded in 1655, that built its first industries around silver production. An unspecified number of locals now profit from growing marijuana and poppy for drug cartels.

By car
From Mazatlan, El Rosario is 70 km southeast on federal highway MEX-15D. The drive will take about 1 hour. Uber serves Mazatlan and the fare is cheaper than a rental car.

By bus
Several buses go to El Rosario from Mazatlan and other cities. From Mazatlan, Tufesa operates several first-class buses each day. Full-price tickets are M$234 but there's usually a promo going on for about half that. (Tufesa allows you to bring your dog on the bus. Canines pay half the adult fare because they don't complain about how the drivers only speak Spanish.) Other bus companies also go through El Rosario, but less frequently than Tufesa.

See




Do

 * Rest
 * Relax
 * Beaches at El Caimanero, about 30 minutes by car or taxi. El Caimanero has beaches on both the Pacific Ocean and on a large lake. There are numerous seafood restaurants and beach palapas.



Eat






Drink
El Manantial, Calle Reforma, Anonal, 82800, sells Tonicol sodas.

Sleep
There are few hotels in town and most visitors seem to be day trippers from Mazatlan, where a much larger range of lodging choices is available.





Connect
Cell reception is good in El Rosario, though mostly 4G as of 2023. Hotels and restaurants generally have good internet with free WiFi access.

Go next

 * Mazatlan
 * Guasave
 * Mocorito