Getting Around Copper Canyon
Gravel and paved roads provide access for buses, for-hire, and private vehicles to formerly isolated villages. But be careful on these two-lane roads. Though much improved in recent years, you'll come upon slow-moving vehicles, speeding livestock, and lumbering logging trucks. Between Chihuahua and Creel, gas stations remain sparse. Second-class-only Estrella Blanca buses from Chihuahua to Creel cost about $25 per person but take nearly five hours.
Seeing Copper Canyon by Train
The Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacifico (Chihuahua al Pacifico Railway), the Copper Canyon's rail line, shouldn't be missed. Called “the most dramatic train ride in the Western Hemisphere,” it took over ninety years to complete. Inaugurated in November, 1961, this extraordinary train ride takes you over 408 miles of track with thirty-nine bridges and through eighty-six tunnels in fourteen to seventeen hours. The sheer excitement of traversing the Puente de Chinipas (Chinipas Bridge), hundreds of feet above a watery gorge, can only be balanced by the slow rocking portion of the train ride. The train travels through the Barranca de Septentrión — the only canyon through which the railroad actually passes — negotiating the ride's steepest grades and most stunning landscapes by a series of tunnels and bridges.
FAST FACT
The Chepe train stops for only a few minutes at each station, so if you plan to hop off and take photographs, be sure you listen for the warning whistle telling you it's time to board the train.
Your adventure begins as you board the Chepe train, departing at 6 A.M. from either Los Mochis in the south or Chihuahua in the north. Each train arrives at its final destination at 10:25 P.M. local time, though there are frequent delays. Be sure to take along some toilet paper, which sometimes runs out, and some bottled water.
TRAVEL TIP
To get the most scenic views in full daylight, it's better to take the train from Los Mochis to Chihuahua and sit on the right side of the aisle. In fact, the most scenic part of the trip runs from Los Mochis to Bahuichivo, as your train climbs nearly 5,300 feet through rugged deep canyons and mountains.
Tickets may be purchased through local or U.S. travel agents or at the station itself beforehand. The entire trip from end to end will cost you about $132 on the Primera Express train, with reclining seats, air conditioning, and heating, plus smoking-bar and dining cars, and about $66 on the Clase Economica (coach) train, also with air conditioning, heating, and a snack bar. However, the coach train, which leaves an hour later, has no smoking onboard and doesn't arrive until 1:30 A.M. If you plan to stay at any of the stops along the way, you'll need to purchase separate tickets for each segment. Reservations are essential (in Los Mochis, 668-812-0853; in Chihuahua, 614-415-7756).
Seeing Copper Canyon by Car
Another scenic way to reach Copper Canyon is by car. From Chihuahua, you can head southwest on Highway 16. The roads, now paved all the way to El Divisadero, allow you to travel through scenic ranching and agricultural areas and mountains dotted with log cabins, railroad car homes, logging camps, and old mines. You'll pass through the Mennonite community of Cuauhtémoc, passing through beautiful orchards along winding mountain roads on your way to the quiet lumber town of Creel. Here, you may continue exploring the canyons on foot or catch the south-bound Chepe train for Bahuichivo.
