Copper Canyon

Copper Canyon holidays

Northwest Mexico is a region of deep canyons, dusty deserts and colonial villages. The star attraction is the stunning Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon) – spectacular gorges and mountain cliffs that contain a series of 20 canyons that surpass the Grand Canyon in depth – it also boasts a thrilling and scenic railway that runs right through the heart of it. The scenery is a mixture of mountains, sheer canyon walls, lakes, abandoned mines, caves and fields of flowers - it has 36 bridges and 87 tunnels. The entire region is also home to one of Mexico’s largest indigenous groups the Tarahumara.

Whilst it is possible to simply ride the train all the way through and then stop overnight before returning, we recommend the best way to experience the Copper Canyon is to make a few stops along the way and really soak up the scenery. Interesting places to overnight include Creel, Cerocahui, Urique, Posada Barrancas and Divisadero allowing you 24 hours before the next train passes by again. There are two services – first class which makes fewer stops providing a restaurant, bar and reclining seats and the cheaper and slower economy service which has food provided by vendors as well as a snack bar. It takes 14 hours to make the one-way trip on the first class train (two hours longer on the economy service).

Please note:

• Hotels in this region are quite simple and service levels can be somewhat erratic. English is not widely spoken.
• The region tends to attract large groups particularly from North America.

Getting There:

The principal airports are Los Mochis and Chihuahua which both have daily flights to Mexico City which take approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.