Twenty-eight miles south of La Paz along the transpeninsular highway heading via Los Barriles towards Los Cabos, you will come to El Triunfo.

This was a colonial-era gold and silver mining town that got its start when Manuel Ocio founded the mine known as Real de Santa Ana in 1748.

El Triunfo

In 1878, the El Progreso mining company got underway, bringing prosperity to El Triunfo and stimulating the development of towns throughout the southern region of the peninsula.

Panoramic view El Triunfo

The company ceased operations in 1912, and the town is now considered an ‘in situ’ museum with well-preserved buildings and mansions from the era and three old cemeteries: one for US citizens, another for the Chinese and a third for Mexicans.

Places to visit in and close to El Triunfo

Music Museum

Music Museum

This beautiful 19th-century colonial-style building has been converted into the only museum of its kind in Mexico.

Music Museum El Triunfo

The exhibit includes a large collection of memorabilia and artifacts linked to leading South Californian musicians and composers. There is also a significant collection of pianos from a period spanning the 18th century to the present and a large variety of musical instruments. (Open daily except Monday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.)

Cactus Sanctuary

This park, covering almost 124 acres, is a nature reserve where different species of primitive cacti native to the peninsula are protected.

There are numerous paths and islets where you can see cardons, biznagas, chollas, cirios (boojums) and other cacti from the region.

Cactus Sanctuary

This is a recreational-tourist-educational park, a favorite of researchers and nature enthusiasts.

Author: M. A. Gallardo