Punta Sur marks the southern point of Cozumel and is part of the Parque Punta Sur, a 247-acre (1.00 km2) ecological park that covers the reefs, beaches, lagoons, and the low forest of the surrounding area. The reef system is also part of the Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park.
The Celarain lighthouse (Faro de Celarain) sits on the Punta Sur promontory (Punta Celarain) and is part of a nautical museum. Just northeast of it is the Caracol (Tumba del Caracol), a Maya building erected during the post classic period. There is a persistant myth, often repeated by tour guides, that the building functioned as a weather alarm, producing a whistle that would precede the arrival of a hurricane, but this is only a legend. The idea that the building somehow functioned as a lighthouse or beacon used to send signals to the mainland is also an old wives tale; it was a temple and nothing more.
Some of the sandy beaches are protected to allow hatching for sea turtles. Observation towers have been erected at the Columbia lagoon to watch wildlife. Off Punta Sur is the Devil's Throat scuba diving area, while in the closer reef visitors can snorkel. The area is accessible to off-road vehicles.
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