Camels and Sunsets

Did you know there are camels in Cabo San Lucas? We didn’t either. When we were looking into things to do during our visit there, we ran across a tour called Sunset Outback and Camel Safari. My wife thought that sounded interesting. So did I. A chance to ride a camel in Cabo San Lucas? And watch a sunset? Yes, let’s do this!

The tour is run by Adventuras y Expediciones de los Cabos or Cabo Adventures. The parent company operates excursions in Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Cancún, and Punta Mita, México. My wife recognized the company as part of the group that conducted one of the tours we took in Puerto Vallarta.

We arrived at the tour’s meeting place at the marina quite early, so we decided to find a restaurant called The Sleepless Lobster and have lunch. We dined at its sister restaurant, The Crazy Lobster, during our first visit to Cabo San Lucas.

Sufficiently fueled up from our meal, we walked around the area near the restaurant, made our way back the marina, and walked around there until time to meet the tour.

Unimog to the Desert?

A shuttle van took our group of 13 from the marina to the outskirts of the ranch property where the actual excursion would start. There we met our guide, Denny, and Hector, our driver, and climbed aboard a waiting Mercedes Unimog. Once everyone was seated and belted in, we set off on a ride through the Mexican outback, along dirt roads to Rancho Tierra Sagrada, which means “Sacred Land” in Spanish. Between the shuttle and the Unimog, it was about a 45-minute journey.

It’s still strange to me seeing this part of Baja California. If you look inland, you see different kinds of cactus, brush, and scrub. You think you’re in a desert. But then just a few meters the other way is the Pacific Ocean.

Camel Caravan

Arriving at the ranch, we disembarked and posed for a group photo. From there we walked over to the camel stables where we received instructions. Riding gear consisted of a helmet covered in blue fabric which draped midway down your back. Not sure why they use blue instead of white or a light shade of brown. Visibility, maybe?

The crew selected camels for us, two riders per camel. We were then led to the loading area, which was a raised platform accessed by stairs. The seats were a tandem tubular steel apparatus. Very generous padding protected the camel from the metal seats. Our camel’s name was Louis. Turned out he was the camel that we all posed for photos with at the end of the ride.

With everyone mounted up, six guides took us out. They walked alongside us as we rode caravan-style down to the beach and along the sand. You sit pretty high up on a camel so we had good view of the course, the ocean, the ranch, and the surrounding area. We were instructed to keep both hands on the seat bar for safety. Louis gave us such a smooth ride that we really didn’t need to hold on, but we did anyway.

A camel’s gait is different than a horse’s. On a horse you rock back and forth as it walks or gallops. On a camel you go from side to side because a camel moves both legs on the same side at the same time. I read somewhere — and I’m not sure how true this is — that this is because of the length of a camel’s back in relation to its legs. A horse has a longer back and comparatively short legs. A camel, on the other hand, has a shorter back and long legs. If the camel were to move opposite legs — say, left front leg and hind right leg — since its legs and stride are so long, its right hind leg would hit its right front leg before the right front leg could be lifted off the ground. There’s your zoology lesson for today.

Our group continued along the sand for a bit. The cameraman that trotted along the sand with us captured several images of the group. Taking advantage of low camera angles, he made us look like a caravan traveling across the sands of Egypt. (Cue Duke Ellington’s “Caravan”.)

To create the imagined experience of riding a camel through the Sahara, I avoided looking toward the ocean for a couple of minutes. My gaze alternated between the camels in front of us and the sand dunes — such as they were — to the side of us. For those few minutes, it actually worked; my mind was convinced we were in the deserts of northern Africa instead of the Pacific coast of México.

After a few minutes more of walking across the sand, we circled back to starting the point. In all, it was a 20-minute camel ride along a kilometer-long circuit. The camels here do up to 15 tours a day, but are easily capable of walking four times that distance carrying a load.

We learned quite a bit about camels from Denny. The camels here are Dromedaries — the ones with a single hump. These are the ones you normally see in northern Africa and around the Sahara Desert. In case you’re wondering, the camels with twin humps are called Bactrians. You’ll find them in north central Asia, especially around Mongolia.

Rancho Tierra Sagrada has 11 camels (I hear they have 19 now). They were purchased from a ranch in Texas. Anticipating what everyone was thinking, Denny explained that they adapt easily to the dry climate in Baja California, which is defined as subtropical desert and very similar to the climate in the Sahara Desert.

Rancho Tierra Sagrada

Leaving Louis and his friends, we all climbed back into the Unimog for a very, very short drive to begin what I call our ‘nature walk’. I was surprised to learn about all the other ecological activities the ranch is involved in, including a program called EcoFarm.

Denny proved to be very knowledgeable. He told us about the different kinds of animals found in the area. He pointed out the giant cactus, also called Mexican giant cardon, elephant cactus, or simply cardón in Spanish. Some other types of cacti found in the area are called Cholla, one of which is the Jumping Cholla.

Denny then blew our minds: He told us there is a turtle sanctuary on the property. Different kinds of turtles can be found here. Some species, including the leatherback, return here every year to lay their eggs. In one of the ranch’s programs, you can sign up to camp at the ranch, study the turtles, and help guard their eggs until they hatch.

After the ‘nature walk’, we climbed up a stepped hill to the restrooms. Next door was a building where all of the photos that were taken of us during the camel ride were displayed. The photos the cameraman took of us looked very good so we purchased a few of them.

Dinner by the Beach… and a sunset

A few steps further and we found ourselves at a covered area outside their Casa Típica with an authentic Mexican meal being prepared for us in an outdoor kitchen. It was quite the spread. Tuna salad made with fresh tuna caught nearby, quesadillas made with handmade tortillas, nopalitos, chicken in mole, Peruvian-style beans, picadillo, all served on decorated Mexican ceramic dishware. Hibiscus juice, tamarind water, and bottled water were the drink options. A few different types of tequila were on hand. Plenty of food for everyone. And yes, it was as delicious as it looks in the photo.

By now the sun was setting. The sky had been full of clouds with patches of blue here and there. But they seemed to break just for us so we could enjoy what was shaping up to be a beautiful sunset. As the sun neared the horizon, the sky turned a deep orange. Denny actually stopped his presentation during dinner so we could all watch the sun sink into the sea. How many guides would do that for you?

We had a nice group on our tour. Everyone was enthusiastic and conversive, especially during our dinner. Judging by the smiles on everyone’s faces, they enjoyed this excursion as much as we did.

There are several reasons I’m so glad we went on this excursion. Obviously, riding a camel for the first time was the main reason we signed up. And seeing a sunset that threatened not to happen was a plus. Our guides really put that extra special sauce on our tour. In addition to all of that, learning more about a side of Cabo San Lucas that exists beyond the glossy travel brochures is something that will stay with me forever; as will this sunset:

(Originally published 19 March 2021. Updated 13 May 2025.)

Photo credits: Camel Caravan – Cabo Adventures

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