Welcome to Ixtapa Zihuatanejo Mexico

Along the Bahia del Palmar, in a zone of the Mexican Pacific Ocean where nature has not curtailed in beauty and resources, it is located one of the main beach destinies in Mexico: the tourism complex of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, a resort having everything in place to guarantee some unforgettable vacations. This destiny has, in addition, all what it takes for a pleasant work travel, since it has the required high-tech for meetings and conventions.

Just four miles away, in the main beach surroundings, it is Zihuatanejo town, with its small hotels and affordable bungalows, where one can still see the mountain landscape of the Sierra Madre, since high buildings are not allowed. There, the scent of fishes, lobster and other delicatessen from the sea being cooked in restaurants and palapas surrounding the malecon or dike fill the air.

As essential companion, a complement among the commodities of one of the more modern and best planned tourism infrastructures in Mexico, and with the pristine charm of a fishing town, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo presents itself as the perfect destination to rest and to have fun, for the romantic elopement or the business travel.  It is a place with plenty of beaches, with abundant gastronomic options and where nature is respected.

Those names are from the Nahuatl, a language spoken by a culture that controlled the incipient settlements of the Pacific Ocean zone.  Zihuatanejo was traditionally known as Cihuatlan, meaning "land of women". In a letter sent by the conqueror Hernan Cortes to the Emperor Charles V, dated in 1524, mentions a report presented to him, about a land peopled only by women, where in certain season men used to go, "with whom they have access". The pregnant women, when they have born boys, they were sent outside and when they have borne girls, these girls would stay in the island.

However, the Nahuatl tradition tells about a western paradise of the universe, which is the home of women who are goddesses (the Cihuateteo), which women were deified by dying during labor.  According to the cosmogonic myth, the Cihuateteo ascended to receive the Sun and to conduct it to its setting. Zihuatanejo was a town paying tribute to the Aztecs and who call it "Cihuatlan", a generic name for "Occident".

Later on, even though the place was explored by them thinking of a port for maritime trade with Asia, the conquistadores found that the Bahia of Acapulco was more strategic and they left Zihuatanejo to enjoy it in the usual tranquillity.