Mismaloya comes from the Nahuatl language meaning “place where they grab fish with their hands” and is a small village, located on the coast of the Banderas Bay. Mismaloya is located on Highway 200, about 30 minutes south of Puerto Vallarta.
Mismaloya is most famous as the site where the 1963 film The Night of the Iguana was filmed. The set and crew quarters rise up the hill on the south side of the Mismaloya cove. Sadly, the set is only ruins now, and the once-famous John Huston Cafe is an empty shell on top of the hill. Huston once wrote that he was the only person who cared for the place. The movie made Puerto Vallarta famous, but the set has been forgotten. On the other side of Highway 200 from Playa Mismaloya is El Eden, a jungle setting where parts of the movie Predator were filmed.
Mismaloya beach is located in a lovely cove, with a full view of Los Arcos sea rocks – a great place to snorkel and scuba dive. There are boats which tourists can hire, and the beach is home to several restaurants and trinket peddlers.
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