Chihuahua Attractions Guide

Copper Canyon (Barrancas del Cobre)

• El Chepe train — the Chihuahua–Pacific railway, one of the world's great train journeys: 673 km from Chihuahua City to Los Mochis through 86 tunnels and 37 bridges into the canyon.
• Divisadero viewpoint — the rim stop where the train pauses so passengers can walk to the canyon edge and look into gorges deeper than the Grand Canyon.
• Parque de Aventura Barrancas del Cobre — the adventure park at Divisadero with a 3-km cable car, seven zip lines, and a glass-floor restaurant over the void.
• Urique Canyon — the deepest of the barrancas, reached by a dramatic switchback road from Creel, with the canyon-floor town of Urique.
• Batopilas — the former silver-mining town at the bottom of Batopilas Canyon, reached by the famous winding descent from Creel.
• Cerro del Gallego viewpoint — the lookout over the Sinforosa Canyon, "the queen of the ravines," near the town of Guachochi.

Chihuahua City

• Palacio de Gobierno — the state government palace with the Altar a la Patria marking the exact spot where Miguel Hidalgo was executed in 1811, plus murals by Aarón Piña Mora; free entry.
• Catedral de Chihuahua — the baroque metropolitan cathedral on the Plaza de Armas, built over roughly a century starting in the 1720s.
• Museo Histórico de la Revolución (Quinta Luz) — Pancho Villa's mansion, preserved by his widow Luz Corral, with the bullet-riddled 1919 Dodge in which he was assassinated.
• Museo Casa Chihuahua — the former federal palace turned state history and culture museum, including the cell block where Hidalgo was held.
• Quinta Gameros — the Porfirian-era Art Nouveau mansion with restored period interiors, now a cultural center and museum.
• Grutas Nombre de Dios — the show caves north of the city with a 1.5-km guided route past stalactites and formations with folk names like the "Tower of Pisa."

Creel

• Valle de los Hongos (Valley of the Mushrooms) — the field of mushroom-shaped eroded boulders just outside town, walkable or bikeable in an hour.
• Lago Arareko — the highland lake 5 miles from town, good for kayaking, horseback riding, and photography, with a small community entry fee.
• Valle de los Monjes (Bisabírachi) — the valley of towering vertical rock formations considered sacred by the Rarámuri people.
• Recowata Hot Springs — natural thermal pools at the bottom of Tararecua Canyon, a steep half-day descent from near Creel.
• Cascada de Cusárare — the 100-foot waterfall about 14 miles from town, beside a Rarámuri community selling handmade crafts.
• Museo de la Cultura Tarahumara — the Tarahumara culture museum in town, the best orientation before visiting Rarámuri communities.

Paquimé (Casas Grandes)

• Zona Arqueológica de Paquimé — the UNESCO World Heritage adobe city, with multi-story puddled-clay room clusters, platform mounds, and a ballcourt built 700+ years ago by a trading culture linking Mesoamerica and the US Southwest.
• Museo de las Culturas del Norte — the on-site museum (same ticket) interpreting Paquimé's trade networks, macaw breeding, and famous thin-walled pottery.
• Mata Ortiz pottery studios — the nearby village where Juan Quezada revived the ancient Casas Grandes ceramic tradition; studios sell and demonstrate the world-renowned ollas.
• Pueblo Mágico de Casas Grandes — the colonial town beside the ruins, with the old Franciscan mission and a relaxed plaza.
• Cueva de la Olla — the "Pot Cave" in the Sierra de la Breña, a giant granary shaped like a pot tucked under a cliff overhang.
• Laguna Fierro hot springs — the thermal springs near the archaeological zone, a soothing stop after the ruins.

Practical Tips

The best season is October through November and March through April, when canyon weather is mild and skies are clear; December–February brings cold nights in the sierra, and summer brings afternoon rains. Getting around: the El Chepe train is the experience itself between Chihuahua City and Creel/Divisadero — book window seats and the Express or Regional service ahead. Creel is the canyon base; Paquimé is a 3-hour drive northwest of Chihuahua City, off the train line, so plan it as a separate road trip. Fly into Chihuahua (CUU).

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