One of the greatest attractions of Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit is Banderas Bay, a setting of extraordinary proportions. It is the largest and deepest bay in Mexico, the second most expansive in North America, and the seventh worldwide. Its 62 miles of coastline and 26-mile span form a landscape where sea and mountains coexist with a natural wealth that is also manifested in its rock formations.
Among these formations are Los Arcos de Mismaloya (The Mismaloya Arches), a set of islands that emerged from the seabed approximately 70 million years ago. Over long periods of erosion, the water gradually separated them, giving rise to this small archipelago of five islands.
Los Arcos de Mismaloya.
Prominent among them is one that has captured the imagination of those who tour these granite formations located off the coast of Mismaloya: La Roca del Diablo (Devil’s Rock), also known as La Sombra del Diablo (The Devil’s Shadow). This island gets its name from a distinct dark stain that stands out on one of its sides, giving rise to a story that, as with many natural sites, hovers between tradition and scientific explanation.
Legend has it that roughly 30 years ago, a teenage girl from Yelapa decided to attend a party in Puerto Vallarta despite her mother’s refusal. To get there, she boarded a water taxi and set off. Along the way, a storm forced the captain to seek shelter in the protected area of Los Arcos. According to the tale, due to the girl’s disobedience, the devil appeared in the air and a lightning bolt projected his shadow onto the rock, leaving behind that dark mark.
La Roca del Diablo.
However, the scientific explanation offers another perspective: lightning struck the arch’s granite and penetrated a fissure, causing the silicon crystals to expand and leading to the detachment of part of the formation. The intense heat of the lightning bolt melted those crystals into glass, creating the characteristic black stain.
Thus, between granite, open sea, and stories passed down over time, Devil’s Rock remains one of the most intriguing details of Los Arcos de Mismaloya: a landscape where nature can simultaneously serve as a backdrop, a memory, and a mystery.
