Travelogue for Train Trip Through Copper Canyon
 

Updated website for this travelogue.
http://www.trainweb.com/cgi-bin/top/...9/1999c19a_mcc.
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Having a problem accessing this site.
We just did a Copper Canyon tour in May and found it beautiful and interesting.

How beautiful and interesting. It is a trip my husband and I have been talking about for many years.

Suzie, DO GO to Copper Canyon. If you don't want to do all the planning, check out Grand Circle tours trip to Northern Mexico
http://www.gct.com/gct/general/
We did the GC tour and had a wonderful trip. Yes, I wish I had been younger and had more time in Copper Canyon, but this was very nice. If you need any more information, please feel free to email me. [email protected]

Thank you so much for your reply. Will check out GC also although we prefer to do our own thing when we travel. Was it a totally organized tour with a bunch of people or did they just make the arrangements for you?

Suzie, it was a 2 week organized tour that left from Tucson with 44 of us and a guide and the same bus and driver the whole way. They put us up in very nice hotels, included 28 meals, side tours & some free time. We stopped in San Carlos, by the gulf of CA, El Fuerte, train trip from El Fuerte to Divisadero, Chihuahua, Las Cruces and back to Tucson.

Sorry, hit the wrong button and posted too early...Suzie, if you would like more information on other tours, or how to do it yourself, go to www.giveaminute.org
It's a website to help at an Indian Children's hospital in Creel MX BUT, if you go to the sponsor's page, there is more info on how to go to CC and the area, and the train through there. That might be more of what you are looking for. We liked Grand Circle because the trip was planned and they took us to places we probably never would have found on our own.

I was looking this up for a friend and the URL is not working. I can't even find it on the Train Web! So I hunted it up and am reposting the whole thing in case someone is interested in this venue.

Trip to Copper Canyon (1999) (Price will certainly be higher now!)

Well, this is what we did and the price was for two of us!!!
This is the itinerary that I typed up for our friends who went with us.

$1,056.00 package for two persons Turismo Al Mar Hector O. Colmenero L.

Round trip Starting in Chihuahua City (Other costs - Round trip taxi from Presidio to OJ and Round trip bus from OJ to Chihuahua Approx $70)

Pre Tour - EASTLAND COUNTY - PRESIDIO Leave at approx. 8:30 am. Passports will be needed to pick up tourist cards at border. Overnight at 3 Palms Motel in Presidio. Telephone 915-229-3600.

1st DAY -PRESIDIO - OJ - CHIHUAHUA CITY: 9:00 AM Taxi to OJ Leave OJ bus terminal (10:00 am - 1:30PM) Hotel San Francisco Telephone 14/16/7770 City tour includes Pancho Villa's Home / Museum.

2nd Day - CHIHUAHUA CITY - CEROCAHUI: All aboard the Chihuahua al Pacifico
Railroad to the Copper Canyon Range (7:00am - 3:30pm). You will see the
Mennonite farm and orchard lands before starting the spectacular climb to
8,000 feet in the Sierra Madre. After crossing the Continental Divide 3
times through tremendously varied terrain, the train arrives at Bahuichivo.
Transfer to Hotel Mision . Telephone 68/18/7046 (Afternoon trek to an Indian Burial Cave.) Tour to Cerro Gallego to look down over a mile into Urique Canyon (the deepest of all Sierra Canyons) on a journey that takes you past high mountain vistas, remote ranchos, and includes a visit to cave-dwelling indians. (Also visit Cerocahui Village with it's gold domed 17th Century Jesuit Mission and a Tarahumara school. For the able-bodied, hike to a canyon waterfall). Evening meal at lodge is included.

3rd Day CEROCAHUI - EL FUERTE: Breakfast and Lunch at Lodge is includedAfternoon train (3:35pm - 6:30pm) to EL Fuerte, descending the Pacific Palisades 6,000 feet in 94 miles of fantastic loops and serpentines. On arrival, transfer to Pasado del Hidalgo
Telephone 689/3-0242 EL FUERTE: Enjoy the historic ambience of your hacienda hotel and explore this 430 year old settlement on the banks of the EL Fuerte River. Stroll through the nearby plaza with its iron kiosk, tropical gardens, cobblestoned streets and colonial architecture.

4th Day EL FUERTE - DIVISADERO: Early morning train (7:30am - 1:35 pm) for
return trip into the canyon range, enjoying optimum daylight travel on the
most scenic part of the railway. On arrival transfer to canyon lodging at
Posada Mirador (No phone - but could call the Hotel Santa Anita at Los Mochis who arranges all the hotels we are using that number is 1-800-896-8196) (Afternoon walking tour of canyon rim.) Lunch and Dinner at Lodge are included

5th Day DIVISADERO - CREEL: Breakfast at lodge is included. Optional walking tour to Tarahumara Indian Cave. Afternoon train (1:35 pm - 2:15pm) to Creel Tansfer to The Lodge at Creel Telephone 14 56-0071 Land Tour including300 year-old Cusarare Mission , Tarahumara cave-dwellings in the Valley of the Mushrooms and the Valley of the Monks and Arareco Lake. Easy trek to the 90 food drop Cusarare Waterfall. Recomended restaurant: El Caballo.

6th Day CREEL- CHIHUAHUA CITY: Afternoon train (2:20pm - 8:50pm) to Chihuahua City. On arrival transfer to Hotel San Francisco. Telephone 14 16/7770

Post Tour - CHIHUAHUA CITY - OJ - PRESIDIO : Morning transfer to bus terminal. Bus - Then taxi back to Presidio. Overnight at 3 Palms Motel in Presidio. Telephone 915-229-3600.

(This is a reply to a lady who replied to my posting - I have omitted it and her email)

No, Senor Hector - No we didn't have a tour. He arranged the train (which was really a big deal - everytime we got off and on there was someone there with a sign with my name, so we got a seat everytime on the train - some of the tour groups didn't - and were really irriated....

I also asked for a tour of Chihuahua city (which the driver did when he picked us up from the bus
station) and also I asked for a tour in a couple of the villages, but they are not included. (but they WERE included in the price I gave - as that was
custom made for us)

I speak just basic Spanish - mostly I know words and a few phrases but can't link it all together. However I read Spanish pretty well, and everyone was very patient. You won't have that problem!

I guess where you go will depend a whole lot on the weather - if it is very dry, you won't get to see the waterfalls, and they (like the SW US) have
been droughty for 2/3/4 years (NOTE AND WE ARE STILL DRY). We really liked Los Mochis - would have
stayed longer there.

I'll be glad to answer any other questions (if I can) - I really like Mexico! -
(Questions)
I hate to be a bother, but did you tour the Canyon
independently. We speak spanish and are not that interested in going on a typical tour.... we just want to know we have space on the train and hotel
reservations. Is this how you did the tour? When did you go?
-----Original Message-----
From: Brahmama >> Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2001 1:06 PM
To: xxxxxx Gail
Subject: Re: trip to Copper Canyon

Whoops, gave you the wrong address:

This one may help.

http://www.copper-canyon.net/

I think this is his email =
[email protected]




on 2/7/01 7:23 PM, xxxxxx Gail at wrote:

Loved your trip logue and am hoping to go there this March or April. Do youhave a way to contact Turismo Al Mar Travel Agency?

It's truly a beautiful trip - I hope you make time in your lifetime to see this.

Kind regards,

Carol