Mobula Rays in La Paz: When + Where to See Them

Picture a calm sea suddenly breaking into splashes as rays launch themselves out of the water, flap in the air and belly-flop back down, again and again. These are mobula rays, also called devil rays, and the waters around La Paz are one of the best places on Earth to see them.

Meet Munk's devil ray

The leaping rays you'll see most often near La Paz are Munk's devil rays (Mobula munkiana), small relatives of the giant manta. They gather in huge schools and feed on tiny zooplankton. Scientists have studied them here for decades: a classic 1988 study followed a seasonal mobula fishery near La Paz, and more recent research has turned to how they live, breed and grow.

Why do they jump?

No one knows for certain, and that's part of the magic. Recent research near La Paz has linked much of the leaping to courtship: scientists recorded hundreds of reproductive events, including "piggyback leaps" and a swirling "courtship vortex", at La Ventana and Ensenada de Muertos, and described them as critical habitats for reproduction. Researchers also identified the first known nursery area for the species, in the Espíritu Santo archipelago.

When and where to see them

• Season: aggregations occur roughly March through August, lining up with the rays' breeding period.
• Where: the bays south of La Paz, especially La Ventana and Ensenada de Muertos, about an hour's drive from town, plus open water in the Sea of Cortez reached by boat.
• How: boat trips look for schools at the surface; snorkelers sometimes get in the water with them when conditions are right. Sightings depend on the day.

If you're staying in La Paz in spring, combine a mobula trip with the last weeks of whale shark season.

Watch them responsibly

• Let the school move on its own. Boats should approach slowly and never drive through a school.
• Don't touch or chase the rays when you're in the water.
• Choose operators who follow good practice. Researchers are actively studying how tourism affects these aggregations, and careful operators help keep them healthy.

Mobula rays are slow to reproduce, which makes them vulnerable to fishing. Devil rays are listed under the Convention on Migratory Species to help protect them across their range.

Book a mobula trip

Search Book with Buddy for mobula ray and Sea of Cortez wildlife trips near La Paz. Staying at Colibri Guest House? Ask us when you book and we'll help you time it.

Sources

• Palacios et al. (2023), Reproductive behavior, seasonality and distribution of Munk's pygmy devil rays, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth repository.
• Munk's devil ray ecology and fisheries vulnerability in the Gulf of California and Mexican Pacific, Manta Trust.
• FSBI Summer News 2026, Fisheries Society of the British Isles, on the March–August aggregations.
• Notarbartolo-di-Sciara (1988), Natural history of the rays of the genus Mobula in the Gulf of California, Fishery Bulletin, NOAA.
• Habitat use, behavior and tourism impacts on whale sharks and mobula rays in the southern Gulf of California, The International SeaKeepers Society.
• Mobulid rays factsheet, Convention on Migratory Species.