Places to Explore

• Batopilas

  Veins of silver—mined on and off since the time of the conquistadors—made this remote village of fewer than 800 people one of the wealthiest towns in colonial Mexico. At one time it was the... (more)

• Cerocahui

  Just across the border in the state of Chihuahua, Cerocahui is a quiet mountain village set amid towering pines. It's a 40-minute drive along a bumpy, mostly unpaved road from the train station at Bahuichivo... (more)

• Chihuahua City

  For a city ringed with highways and pocked by parking lots, Chihuahua has a very pleasant center. Here you'll find a pair of pretty plazas and more trees than you will probably see in any northern city... (more)

• Creel

  Surrounded by craggy, pine-covered bluffs, Creel is a mining, ranching, and logging town that grew up around the railroad station. The largest settlement in the area, it's also a gathering place for Tarahumara... (more)

• Divisadero and Posada Barrancas

  At these whistle-stops five minutes apart on the Continental Divide, the views of the Copper Canyon are unforgettable. Three romantic hotels hug the rim of the canyon in Posada Barrancas; in Divisadero... (more)

• El Fuerte

  Smart travelers come to El Fuerte, a rather sleepy town of some 45,000 residents, to board the Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico. But tour operators also use El Fuerte as a base for hiking, birding... (more)

• Los Mochis

  At the western end of the railroad line, Los Mochis (population 331,000) sits near the Gulf of California. It is a friendly, but not terribly attractive, town. Unless they are headed to the nearby beach... (more)