THE COAST IS CLEAR

Ingrid Rojas Contreras dives deep to uncover the raw, unspoiled beauty of Costalegre, Mexico. Photographs by Anne Menke

WE WERE FLYING in a jeep past sand dunes lining the cerulean waters of Mexico's Pacific coast. The breeze, balmy and salt-tinged, flowed through my hair. At the wheel, Ricardo Santa Cruz smiled as he turned onto a dirt road lined with palm trees. "The ultimate luxury is to have space, and a real communion with nature," he said. Santa Cruz is a cofounder of Xala, a multimillion-dollar development slated to open in late 2026 in Costalegre, or "the happy coast"-a part of the western state of Jalisco, south of Puerto Vallarta, that's full of unspoiled beaches, capes, and bays.

Comparisons to the once off-the-beaten-path Riviera Maya come to mind, as do reservations about that region's ultimate fate. Its once-vibrant spirit quickly turned into something more sterile under the economic pressures of overdevelopment. Along Costalegre, however, there's a trend for regenerative, high-end tourism in places like Xala and the Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo (doubles from *70,461; fourseasons.com/tamarindo), which opened in November 2022 on a nature reserve 101 kilometres south.

Much of the land along the coast is owned by private developers, who have worked together in partnership with the government to ensure that Costalegre's wild beauty is carefully preserved.

Xala, which has been 15 years in the making, will include a Six Senses hotel, low-density luxury residences, bars and restaurants, and an organic farm. The owners' commitment to social impact, land stewardship, and the right of future generations to enjoy the coast have led Xala to help develop a waterway that has brought clean water to more than 200 families of nearby ranchers and farmers.

As we neared a mango grove, Santa Cruz slowed down and turned onto a wide, shaded aisle of trees. They were young and not yet bearing fruit. Santa Cruz explained that mangoes were chosen because they oxygenate the land.