What you can see on the Nichupté Lagoon cam
From a resort tower near the start of the hotel zone, the view looks out over the lagoon: its open water, the dark green mangrove islands and the channels that wind between them. The water changes with the light and the wind, from milky green to steel blue, and boats leave their wakes across it.
Nichupté Lagoon and the bay from Breathless Cancún Soul
From high on a resort where the hotel zone begins, this camera makes plain how thin the strip of land is. On the right lies the lagoon, with a marina full of moored boats and a road running along its edge; in the middle stretches a broad green park with a very tall mast; on the left is the open water of the bay, and further along the strip rise more hotel towers.
Boats leave white wakes on the lagoon and the clouds change the light over both waters, which makes it one of the more varied views in Cancun. Webcams de México streams it.
A lagoon of mangroves
The lagoon is in fact a system of seven connected bodies of water, linked to the sea by two narrow channels, one in the north and one at Punta Nizuc in the south. Its water is close to seawater, over a sandy bottom with patches of seagrass, and its shores are lined with mangroves. They shelter young fish and water birds and soften the force of hurricanes.
In 2008 Mexico protected the mangroves as the Manglares de Nichupté Flora and Fauna Protection Area, about 4,250 hectares (16 square miles) managed by the national commission of protected areas (CONANP). The lagoon is also home to crocodiles, some longer than 3 meters (10 feet), which live close to the restaurants and docks of the hotel zone.
When to watch the Nichupté Lagoon
The hotel zone stands between the lagoon and the open sea, so the sun sets over the lagoon and the mainland, and the hour before dusk is when to watch. Mornings are usually calmer, before the wind picks up, and on a still day the water holds the reflection of the mangrove islands. Summer is hotter and wetter, and from this height its storms can be seen gathering over the mainland across the water.
Nearby
Restaurants with docks and sunset terraces line the lagoon side of Kukulcán Boulevard. Boat tours cross the lagoon through the mangroves and out to the reef at Punta Nizuc. The El Rey archaeological site lies near its southern end, and the calm bay beaches of Playa Langosta and Playa Caracol are just across the boulevard from its northern part.
Getting there
The lagoon is seen from the water or from its shore: boat tours, from small speedboats to sunset cruises, leave from marinas along the boulevard. Swimming is not allowed, because of the crocodiles. Never feed them or go to the water's edge where signs warn of them.
