SEVEN SISTERS, MX
Now on to the Seven Sisters. Wow, what a place this is. It really is the mecca of surfing in the northern state of Baja. It is so wild, so raw and just amazing. There is no cell phone service as far as the eye can see, and usually there won't be another person, especially in the Northern part. This is what it's all about. First off I guess, what are the Seven Sisters? Well, they are a collection of 7 right-hand point breaks, about 400 miles down from the border of the States. This is the epitome of surf adventure on the peninsula. The 'Sisters' are as follows, Punta Cono (right point), Punta Maria (right rock reef point), Punta Lobos (right point reef break), Punta Negra (right point reef break), Punta Rocosa (right rock reef point), Punta Santa Rosalillita (right point break), and Rosarito (right point, also known as 'The Wall'). It will be all dirt roads down here, apart from the paved road to the entrance at the southern end of the Sisters in Santa Rosalillita from the highway. A lot of the points to the North are only accessible with high clearance vehicles, and 4x4. This area is not for the faint of heart. There are typically high winds, it's cold at night, the water is cold almost all year round, the terrain is unforgiving, it's extremely easy to get lost or stuck with no help in sight, water and gas are hours away, and you will be mostly on your own the whole time. But if you can handle all of that, the Seven Sisters will offer some of the most perfect, and empty right-hand point breaks anywhere in the world. It's truly a special place. The area is also home to a number of other spots, but those are not to be named and are held as sacred in the surfing community. Go get lost and maybe you'll find them, but you won't find them here. Oh, and that cover image you are probably drooling over, that I still am as well? I'll never tell!!
LOCATIONS
Now on to the location of the Sisters, and how to get here. There are a number of ways to get here, but the preferred method, safest method, and way that you are the least likely to get lost is to take the paved road into Santa Rosalillita. It's an actual town, well puebLITO I would say. One restaurant, no gas station — that kind of place. But the road into the town is paved and nice. They were planning a large port here, and the rumor is they wanted this area to kind of be the cabo of central Baja. Thank God it didn't happen. You can see the remnants of some of their building when you see the large piers or jettys that seem to have no purpose. This was when they started to plan for that, but it was never to be.
Other than taking the simple exit off road 1 into Rosalillita, there are a number of other ways to get in. But do so at your own risk. You can go straight to 'the Wall' by going through a dirt road that's a few miles past the Rosalillita road. I remember it was marked by a white mile marker but I can't remember which one it was. I got lost a few times on this way in, thought I was at the Wall when I wasn't a few times, but eventually made it. In hindsight, I would just go through the paved road and crawl over the bumpy dirt road south from Rosalillita to get to the Wall. That can be a mission in its own right as well. But it's fun.
There is also apparently a way in from the top. It will require 4x4, and will be very hard on your car. If you're a crazy person and are feeling adventurous, be my guest. But find out from someone who knows about it and get some advice before just exiting off on some dirt road from the highway near the northern point of the Sisters. But who knows — could be fun.
TIP 1: As I mentioned, this place is SUPER rural. You won't have access to anything. No water, no food. So you must bring in everything you have. The nearest gas station is at least an hour away (from the quickest point in Rosalillita) and about 80 km's. The water situation is the same. So if you need either of those, it's likely going to be at least a half-day mission. Bring in everything you can.
TIP 2: Headlamps, lights, firewood. There is no electricity anywhere, so if you want to see anything at night you will need your own lights.
TIP 3: Don't bury your toilet paper. Buried toilet paper is causing an environmental problem. Bury your poo, but toss the TP in the trash bag. Don't leave this place a mess, and pick up after yourself as well.
TIP 4: Caravan in. This place can be dangerous from a transportation perspective. In Baja, safety in numbers is always better. You won't be the only person wanting to go to the Sisters, so make a friend with another rig and go in together. One, you'll be in a much better spot if you get stuck, and two, it's always nice to have company and people to share the stoke of this unreal place with.
HOSTELS, CAMPING, AND HOTELS (IF ANY)
The area surrounding the Seven Sisters is extremely, extremely remote. There are no options for accommodation here, or anywhere near here other than camping or staying in your vehicle. If you didn't already know that, you wouldn't be here anyways. The majority of the camping is wild camping but the camping situation, in general, is outlined below.
THE WALL
The Wall is a pretty notorious place. It is located in Rosarito on a map. It has no town or anything like that, but is home to a pretty spectacular wave. It is also a miserable place — from my experience. It is windy, cold, misty/rainy much of the time. So much so, that the place actually got its name from the small, 1-meter man-made rock walls at most of the campsites to shelter from the wind. There are usually always campers here — mainly old men from southern California. Some have even been coming down for decades, and spend months here at a time. A special breed the old Baja dogs are. Camping is free, unless someone comes around asking for some money, which I hear happens, but never happened to me. No facilities — don't bury your TP, take it out with you. Southern tip of the Sisters.
SANTA ROSALILLITA
This is the proper entrance to the Sisters. There is a paved road that comes into town here, and is considered "town" here in the area. Although it's not much bigger than a roadside pueblo. There are various surf spots in town that aren't technically a part of the "Seven Sisters". You can also wild camp all over the place here. From north to south around the bay. Wherever you want to pull up for the night. You find a nice-looking piece of dirt, and you're done driving — go for it. No one with bother you. There is also a restaurant here. Probably the only one you will find in the area.
TRES ALEJANDROS
This was the best place I stayed in Baja. It says 'closed permanently' on iOverlander, which would be a serious bummer. I hope that is not that case but if it is, so be it — less people will come to surf the wave. This place gets its name from the fact that apparently 3 Alejandros own the land. Its the only place in the area that has any shelter associated with camping. There are small little wood huts, shelters built that you can either park your car in or near. It's $8 per vehicle to use one of these huts. We stayed here for a few weeks and it was amazing, and totally worth having the little shack. Awesome local fisherman in the camp making cheap, fresh tacos nightly.
THE NORTHERN SISTERS
The northern Sisters are difficult to get to, you need some serious clearance and for the top few, 4wd. For me, this early in the drive to Argentina it was too much of a risk, so I decided against it. But there is wild camping all over the place. No one will bother you, there aren't even any people out there. So when you get there, pick a spot and you are good. Bring all your own water and food. Everywhere in the Sisters. There's no cell service and no one to help you. You are really on your own.
Restaurants
EATS
For the most part there are no restaurants in the entire area.
You will be cooking your own food that you trucked in yourself, over a fire or on your stove.
But there were two places I went to eat that were worth mentioning.
A nice little local restaurant in Punta Rosalillita right when you drive into town. Fish tacos and such that were really good. They apparently have wifi also, but it never worked for me.
Tacos Tres A's
Not sure if this is the name of the place or if it even has a name. But it's a small little room that makes fresh fish tacos every night — 3 for $5 at the camp site of Tres Alejandros. Tacos they have depend on what they caught that day. The owner is 'Sergio' — he pretty much just talks as we share tequila and his wife does the cooking. Still one of my favorite places to have a meal in Baja.
Cook ya own!
Only other way to eat out here is to bring and cook your own, so make sure you plan ahead and buy what you think you'll need. That means water as well.
NIGHTLIFE
Nothing at all in the form of nightlife here. Up with the sun, down with the sun.
SURFING
Well... here it is. The surfing. Thats really why you come here. To be honest I am not going to get into too much detail on the surfing here. I think this place and this whole part of Baja is pretty sacred. When you get down there I think it's your obligation to explore. Go and then figure it out. There are waves all over the place, from top to bottom, different levels of crowded. I will outline a few of the standouts below. But in general, the waves in the Seven Sisters are some of the best that Baja has to offer, and you would be hard pressed to find such a concentration of right-hand point breaks anywhere else in the world. Well, except maybe El Salvador or Morrocco. But here there will be less people.
Santa Rosalilita
Right at the southern entrance of the Sisters. There is a perfect, absolutely perfect right-hand wave that breaks off of the jetty they constructed in the past. Best on a big swell, but when it's small there are perfect little longboard dribblers. If you want to ditch the crowds, head up to the north end of the bay, and there will be great waves with no one around.
The Wall
One of, if not the most infamous spots in the area. It's a fickle wave, but when it works, boy does it work. People camp out for weeks, for a few days of perfection. It's a beautiful right-hand point break, but living conditions can be tough. You're really in the wild, water is cold, winds are high after the early morning, and a weird mist rolls in often. We referred to it as 'Mordor' whilst we were there.
