Why go
Following the rivers gives you a clearer map of the city than a list of districts alone. The Cuale separates Centro from the southern streets of Emiliano Zapata, while the Ameca frames the northern edge of the municipality. El Salado estuary adds a different wetland landscape north of the center.
The full story
Waterways connect the mountains to Bahía de Banderas. The Río Cuale is the most legible in the old urban core because it runs through the city toward the sea. Farther north, the Río Pitillal crosses the expanding urban plain. The Río Mascota joins the Ameca near Las Juntas, and the Ameca then reaches the bay along the border between Jalisco and Nayarit. Smaller streams descend from the southern slopes, including waterways near Mismaloya and Los Horcones. Their courses help explain why settlement stretches up some valleys as well as along the beach. El Salado, north of the older center, is an estuary rather than another ordinary city street or beach. The landscape also changes with the summer rains: these rivers and channels are part of a seasonal coastal system, not simply lines on a map. For visitors, the Cuale is the most useful immediate reference point; the other waterways explain the wider shape of Puerto Vallarta.