Copper Canyon, Mexico

The El Chepe train crosses 86 tunnels and 37 bridges over 653 kilometres, climbing from sea level at Los Mochis to 2,400 metres in the Sierra Tarahumara before descending through a canyon system that is, by area, roughly four times the size of the Grand Canyon. Most people have never heard of it. That gap between scale and fame is exactly why Copper Canyon still rewards visitors.

The Canyon System

Barrancas del Cobre is not one canyon but six interconnected canyons carved into the Sierra Madre Occidental in the state of Chihuahua. The entire system covers around 65,000 square kilometres. The depth at Divisadero is approximately 1,300 metres, you stand on the canyon rim and look down roughly the same vertical distance as you look across. It is one of those moments where the usual comparisons to the Grand Canyon actually undersell the place.

The canyon floor stays warm year-round while the rim towns sit above 2,300 metres. The Tarahumara, who call themselves the Rarámuri, have lived across both climate zones for centuries, running between settlements across distances that most people would not attempt on a bicycle. Their long-distance running ability has attracted international attention since Christopher McDougall’s book “Born to Run,” but they were famous within Mexico for this long before anyone outside wrote about it.

El Chepe: The Train

The Ferrocarril Chihuahua Pacífico (universally called El Chepe) has two services. The Chepe Express runs between Creel and Los Mochis three times a week in each direction, taking about 10 hours. First-class tickets on the Express start from around 2,900 MXN (roughly $145 USD) one way. The Chepe Regional runs the full route including Chihuahua and costs 400-600 MXN ($20-30 USD) for economy class but takes longer and runs less frequently.

Book directly through chepe.mx rather than third-party aggregators, which charge significant markups for no added service.

One thing most articles get wrong: if you are going for the scenery, start in Chihuahua and travel westbound. The spectacular Bahuichivo-Temoris stretch, the deepest canyon crossings, hits in the afternoon on a westbound journey, meaning you see it in daylight. Travelling eastbound puts you through those same sections at 3-4am in the dark.

You need at least four days in the canyon country to see anything beyond the train itself. Anything less means you have ridden through an extraordinary landscape without actually standing in it.

Where to Base Yourself

Creel is the main town and the most practical base. Sitting at 2,338 metres, it feels like a frontier outpost: a main street of wooden buildings, Tarahumara women selling baskets and pine-needle weavings in the plaza, and trucks loaded with timber. It has the widest choice of hotels, restaurants, and guides, plus working fuel access if you are driving. Almost all canyon excursions depart from here.

Divisadero is a viewpoint with a few lodges perched directly on the canyon rim. The train pauses there for 15 minutes, time enough for Rarámuri vendors to sell woven goods on the platform. If you stay overnight, sunrise from the terrace at Posada Barrancas Hotel Mirador is worth the effort. Rates run $80-130/night. But Divisadero is quiet in the evenings and has almost no infrastructure beyond the hotels themselves. Worth one night, not two.

Batopilas is a different proposition entirely: a colonial silver-mining town at the bottom of its own canyon, reached by a 4-5 hour drive down a dirt road from Creel. The descent drops 1,800 metres through cactus and mango trees. The town is hot, sleepy, and cut off enough to feel genuinely remote. I think this is the highlight of the whole region for anyone willing to spend the time, but you need a full day each way and a solid vehicle.

Where to Eat

In Creel, the restaurant inside Hotel Margaritas is reliable and the menu covers local food well: corn tortillas, bean soups, grilled meats, and good coffee. It is not trying to be anything other than what it is, and that is the right approach for a meal after a full day in the canyon.

La Cabaña on the main street in Creel handles breakfast well and is where most of the guides and guesthouse owners eat in the mornings, which is usually a reasonable endorsement.

Avoid the restaurant cars on the Express train. The food is overpriced and the view from your seat is better than anything you will see from the dining car.

Where to Stay

Hotel Margaritas, Creel: Around $40-70/night. The most established mid-range option, with in-house guide booking. Solid choice for anyone without strong preferences.

Copper Canyon Sierra Lodge, near Cusarare: A 45-minute drive from Creel, this lodge sits in a pine forest near a waterfall. Rooms are simple but comfortable, the altitude is high, and the walking from the door is excellent. Rates around $100/night including meals, which is fair given the remoteness.

Posada Barrancas Hotel Mirador, Divisadero: The best address in the canyon for the view alone. Book the rooms facing the canyon rather than the road side. Prices $80-130/night.

Activities Worth Doing

Hiking to Basaseachi Falls: At 246 metres, Basaseachi is one of the tallest permanent waterfalls in North America. It is 2-3 hours from Creel by road and the hike down into the gorge takes another hour. Not heavily visited relative to how spectacular it is.

Rarámuri village visits: In the small village of Huetosachi, near Divisadero, local women offer cooking and weaving classes. You learn to make pinole, the ground corn drink that Rarámuri runners use on long runs, and blue corn tortillas, plus the basics of the yucca-leaf basketry that the women sell throughout the region. These are not tourist performances; they are working households that have opened a door. Book through your guesthouse in Creel.

The Divisadero zip-line: 2.5 kilometres long and suspended up to 450 metres above the canyon floor. If you are going to do it, commit, the canyon scenery during the ride is the point, not the speed.

Horseback riding: Most Creel guides offer half-day and full-day rides into the canyon surroundings. This is an honest way to cover terrain that is slow on foot and inaccessible by road.

Practical Notes

The best weather window is October through April: dry, clear, and cool at the rim. The rainy season (July-August) brings afternoon downpours and can make the dirt roads treacherous. Summer still gets visitors because school holidays drive demand, but experienced canyon travellers prefer the dry months.

Altitude sickness is real at Creel (2,338m). Give yourself a day of lower activity on arrival and drink more water than you think you need. Headaches on day one are common.

Spanish is helpful but not essential in Creel. Outside Creel, especially in Rarámuri communities, basic Spanish gets you further. The local language (Rarámuri) shares nothing with Spanish, so do not assume Spanish fluency will be universal in smaller settlements.

Cash is important. Creel has ATMs but they run out at busy periods. Carry pesos from Chihuahua.

Chihuahua City, the regional capital, is the practical gateway. It has an international airport with connections to Mexico City, and the train departs from there on the Regional service. Most travellers fly in, spend a night in Chihuahua (the Pancho Villa Museum is genuinely worth two hours), and board early the next morning.