Puerto Ángel (English: "Angel Port") is a Mexican small coastal town in the state of Oaxaca located in the municipality of San Pedro Pochutla.

[2] Despite tourism development since the 1960s, the town is still mostly a fishing village, located on a small bay surrounded by rocky hills that lead into the Sierra Madre del Sur.

[3] It was founded in the mid-19th century as a port for the region's coffee and lumber industries but since then other means of shipping these products has replaced it.

Highway 200, which links most of Mexico's Pacific coast towns was built in the 1970s and 1980s, connecting Puerto Ángel with more popular beach destinations to the north.

[2][8] In 2009, an unusually large number of pelicans migrated to the area due to colder than normal temperatures farther north.

The town sees very few Western tourists due to the ageing nature of hotels which lack mod cons.

As a result of the lack of outside tourists the town retains a rustic, ragged charm and continues to be steeped in local culture.

[2][13] While the main road, Boulevard Vigilio Uribe is fully paved, many others are not and encountering wandering farm animals is not uncommon.

[10] The town's center is marked by a small plaza adjoining a pier at the intersection of Vigilio Uribe and Vasconcelos.

[8] Puerto Ángel is several times larger than the nearby ocean communities of Mazunte or Zipolite and has a steady stream of traffic on its streets.

[14] Most places to eat in the town are impromptu food stands and pricy beachside restaurants serving seafood and pasta.

Other seafood available includes ocean perch, swordfish, shark, lobster, octopus and oysters, which are commonly served fried.

[2][10] Boats are available for hire for deep sea fishing or to tour the isolated beaches located just east of the bay.

Each boat takes off from the pier decorated and filled with passengers who ride for free as it makes a circle around the bay.

The Puerto Ángel region is separated from the rest of Oaxaca and Mexico by the Sierra Madre del Sur.

[16] The construction of the new highway has been slower than projected due to various factors, such as lawsuits by local residents demanding compensation for their land.

[17] The new superhighway (supercarretera) generally follows the route of the current Highway 175 from Oaxaca until Barranca Larga (near Ejutla de Crespo).

Public transportation between the coastal towns is usually in the form of pick up trucks that have been outfitted to carry passengers but these tend to travel only as far as Zipolite and not Puerto Ángel.

[14] The town of Puerto Ángel sits on a small horseshoe bay whose entrance is protected by craggy outcropping of rock.

Large gray herons dive into the shallow waters searching for fish, while white egrets and seagulls perch on the rocks above the surf.

Tuna is the most common fish but also red snapper, shark, bonito, sailfish, lobster, conch, octopus and other seafood is caught.

San Agustinillo is a small beach area divided into three sections and Mazunte is home to Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga (Mexican Turtle Center) .

[3] La Ventanilla has nearly virgin beaches facing open ocean but is best known for its lagoon in which visitors can see crocodiles, turtles and numerous birds in its mangroves.

Slightly inland is the El Paraíso fresh water spring and the Los Reyes waterfalls at Chacalapa.