Go south, amigo, where you'll find adventure by the sombrero-full: volcanoes to dwarf Hood and St. Helens, a canyon to swallow even the Grand Canyon, and an ancient empire that would make Caesar proud.  

The crystalline waters off Baja's southern coastline chant a bewitching siren-call to paddlers the world over. Thread your vessel, supplies, and good self amongst crenellated islands replete with wildlife, playas, and unspoiled campsites.  

Whether you're after a low-key Pacific surf spot, a sleepy mountain hideaway, or the perfect backwater beach, discover the Mexico that's tourist-free and packed with adventure hideaways.  

Mexico's triumvirate of conical volcanoes—Popocatepetl (17,887 feet), Ixtaccihuatl (17,343 feet), and Orizaba (18,850-foot)—recently became a duo after Popo reawakened. Regardless, these fickle, lava-bellied behemoths give a full-on examination of the hardiest climber's skills.  

The epicenter of ancient, powerful civilizations, the legacy of the Mayan empire is both blood-chillingly intense and astounding in its mercurial complexity. Follow the Ruta Maya along the Yucatán spine.  

The empty, sere scrub of Baja's northern desert is as far removed from the Tijuana tack as one could hope. Drive, hike, kayak, camp, and explore in a wild world free from the resort-bound hordes.  

In remote Zapatista country, the good people of Chiapas engage in an annual rite to upend the world. Men become women. Night becomes day. And a pilgrim in a rental car is barreling toward them.  

Five great dive spots, including world-renown Isla Cozumel, spliced along the needle-like Yucatán. Here, the diving and local scenes do their damndest to resist mainstream-—and aquatic-—overdevelopment.