Punta Sur Eco Beach Park

Cozumel lies about 19 kilometres from the mainland across the Cozumel Channel and is roughly 48 kilometres long and 16 kilometres wide, according to Wikipedia. It is a flat limestone island whose highest natural point is under 15 metres above sea level, with large areas of mangrove forest. Punta Sur is the southern end of that landscape, where the surrounding reef is included within the Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park, a Ramsar wetland designated in 2005. Both the southern reefs and the northern mangroves are part of the UNESCO-listed Isla Cozumel Biosphere Reserve.

The lighthouse stands on the promontory called Punta Celarain. Sources give different dates: one source says it dates from 1901, while a lighthouse database lists a date established of 1900 and a present tower built in 1934, with the remains of an earlier lighthouse still visible. The keeper's dwelling and service building now house a small nautical museum with information about the history of the place. Visitors can climb the tower for a view over the reef, the beaches and the lagoon, and sources give the number of steps as about 130 to 133.

Just northeast of the lighthouse is El Caracol, a Post-Classic Maya structure that the Mexican institute INAH dates to roughly AD 1200 to 1500, named for snail-like decorations on its dome. Popular guide stories say it whistled to warn of hurricanes or acted as a beacon for canoes, but Wikipedia calls these legends and states that it was a temple. Some sources link it to Ixchel, the Maya goddess associated with the moon, fertility and childbirth. Cozumel was a pilgrimage centre for Ixchel from about 1250 CE, and more than 30 archaeological sites have been identified on the island, with the major city of San Gervasio the best known.

The Colombia Lagoon is a wetland home to crocodiles, turtles, iguanas and a range of birds. Observation towers allow wildlife watching, and the park has historically offered a guided boat ride on the lagoon. Wikipedia lists the Cozumel crocodile, possibly a distinct form of the American crocodile, among the island's wildlife, along with endemic birds such as the Cozumel emerald and Cozumel vireo. Some of the sandy beaches along the coast are protected as sea turtle nesting sites, and sources describe the nesting season as running from roughly May to October.

Off Punta Sur lies the dive site known as Devil's Throat, and the nearby reef is also referred to as a snorkelling area. The reef belongs to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. The coast here is undeveloped by Cozumel standards, and a dirt road runs toward two beach clubs near the point.

Punta Sur is far from the town of San Miguel de Cozumel, which one source puts at about 37 kilometres, and has no public bus service. A private vehicle and driver suits the distance, and a guide can explain the lighthouse, the Maya temple and the lagoon's ecology.