Why go
Use the landscape to choose a route: Centro and Our Lady of Guadalupe church anchor the older town, Olas Altas and Emiliano Zapata lie beyond the Cuale, and the hotel zone runs north along the shore. Residential districts continue inland and up the slopes.
The full story
The Sierras Cuale and San Sebastián rise behind a coastal plain that widens north toward the Río Ameca. The Río Cuale, Río Pitillal and Río Ameca descend from the mountains across that plain, with smaller streams cutting their own valleys. The urban area follows the coast, but some neighborhoods extend east and onto the hillsides. In the older center, the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe and nearby Hidalgo Street help locate the historic core. South of the Cuale are Olas Altas and Emiliano Zapata; farther north, the hotel zone occupies another stretch of waterfront. These divisions are easier to understand on foot when the river and bay remain in view. A map can make the districts look like a continuous strip, but the watercourses and slopes produce real changes in street pattern and setting. This landform is the practical reason to group central walks together and treat farther coastal districts as separate outings.