Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – The first time I ever tasted a lychee, I wasn’t in Mexico. I was in Hawaii.
I had just finished hiking down a mountain in the tropical heat. I was sweaty, exhausted, and dreaming of something cold and refreshing. That’s when I came across someone selling fresh lychees from a cooler packed with ice.
I had never seen one before.
With its rough pink-red shell, it didn’t exactly scream “delicious.” But curiosity got the better of me. I peeled it open, revealing a translucent white fruit inside, and took a bite.
It was love at first taste.
The flavor was unlike anything I had experienced before – sweet, juicy, floral, and incredibly refreshing. Imagine if a grape, a pear, and a splash of tropical perfume somehow had a baby. That’s the closest description I can give.
Years later, after moving to Puerto Vallarta, I was thrilled to discover that lychees can also be found here in Mexico. While tourists often flock to mangoes, coconuts, and pineapples, lychees remain one of the region’s lesser-known tropical treasures.
Native to southern China and cultivated throughout tropical regions around the world, lychees have been enjoyed for more than 2,000 years. Fortunately for those of us living in and around Banderas Bay, they can often be found during their growing season at local fruit stands, mercados, and specialty produce vendors.
But lychees offer more than just incredible flavor.
These small fruits pack an impressive nutritional punch. They are loaded with vitamin C, supporting immune function, collagen production, and healthy skin. A single serving can provide more than 100 percent of your daily vitamin C needs.
Lychees also contain antioxidants that help protect the body from oxidative stress, along with important minerals such as potassium and copper, which support heart health, circulation, and energy production.
Because they are naturally high in water content, lychees are especially refreshing during Puerto Vallarta’s warm summer months. Chilled in the refrigerator – or better yet, served over ice – they become the perfect tropical snack after a day at the beach, a hike in the Sierra Madre, or an afternoon exploring the city.
If you’ve never tried one, don’t let their unusual appearance fool you. Simply peel away the shell, remove the seed, and enjoy.
Some foods become memorable because they’re healthy. Others become memorable because they’re delicious.
Lychees manage to be both.
And for me, every bite still brings me back to that hot Hawaiian mountainside, standing in the sun with cold lychee juice running down my chin, discovering what would become one of my favorite fruits in the world.
If you spot lychees while exploring Puerto Vallarta, do yourself a favor and give them a try. You just might discover your new favorite tropical fruit.
Have a Healthy day!
Heather
Heather Gray, FDN-P, is a master certified health practitioner, best-selling author, speaker, stand-up comedian, and host of the Renegade Health Boss podcast. A proud Puerto Vallarta resident, she shares her passion for health, resilience, and personal transformation while enjoying the adventure, community, and fresh perspective she found in Mexico.
